This Little Light of Mine
by moonswirl
Summary: Gleekathon, days 988a-1008a: At age eleven, Nora P. Fabray became a big sister twice. Quinn welcomes back her fellow Sunshine Girl as they both await the birth of their daughters. - series that has been running nearly three years, based on their friendship, so not a couple.
1. Came Home

_Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 47th cycle. Now cycle 48!_

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_**Cycle 48/Day 1000 special: **So, yes, in this cycle, a milestone I had to do something special for.  
In this cycle I'm passing my 1000th consecutive day of gleekathon! So for this, the cycle will feature:  
* 21-day/chapter story for the Sunshine Girls series (This Little Light of Mine)  
* 14-day/chapter story special for day 1000 (Let Me Tell You A Story)  
* One-shot installments from 12 series + 2 non-series  
* And for this cycle and this cycle alone (I swear), 7 'triple shift' days, with 3 chapters/stories going up in the day!_

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_**This is a triple shift day.** There will be two more uploads today: Let Me Tell You A Story, chapter 1 and Sugar So Sweet._

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**"This Little Light of Mine"  
Older Quinn, Rachel, Finn, Puck + Nora (OC Beth)  
Sunshine Girls series  
_(all series now listed under the communities tab in my profile)_**

**1. Came Home**

_(A/N: Please read the info above the line! Thanks!)_

If it had been up to her, she could have handled it just fine. She had been going back and forth from her parents in Lima to her parents in New York for as long as she could remember, so why did school have to change that? But she was just a kid, so she had no say in it, and for the last few years, if her stepmother had a role back in New York and it was during the school year, Nora had to watch her and her father go while she stayed behind. It had been hard, but she had adjusted. Now though, in the last few months, this had changed. It was just a few weeks before her eleventh birthday when she had learned her stepmother was pregnant.

Nora had been thrilled, beyond thrilled. This was something she had wanted for so long, and now here it was… or there it was… in New York. She was going to carry on over there, which to Nora had meant she wouldn't get to be part of all of it, to see as Rachel's belly grew, as the baby kicked, all of it. She'd be miles away.

But then to everyone's surprise, a few days after Nora's birthday, there had been a second revelation. Her mother was pregnant as well. Now she had two siblings on the way, in two mothers, in two cities… It was a lot to grasp for someone so young. The months had passed, getting to see one progress before her eyes, the other over pictures and video chat. Now Quinn was nearing on seven months, while Rachel was due within less than two weeks. That was good news: they were coming back to Lima for the birth.

Her mother was more tired now as she too neared her due date, though it was still weeks away, so Nora would help where she could. It helped keep her mind off the wait, if anything. She would carry up the laundry from the drier, all warm and fragrant, and they would fold it together. It wasn't her best skill, so Quinn would sneak a refold here and there, but she didn't mind.

"Is it okay if I go stay with them until the baby's born?" Nora asked as she focused on folding a shirt.

"Of course you can," Quinn assured her. "I know you've missed them… about as much as they've missed you," Quinn smiled, getting a matching grin in return.

"I can't wait to have sisters," she told her mother, looking at the belly that held one of them.

"That's what you've been telling us," Quinn nodded, then as they continued folding, "Are you sure there's nothing else?" She turned those blue eyes up, like she wasn't sure what her mother meant, but Quinn knew she did. "I know these last few months haven't been easy on you, so if there's anything you need to say, you just say it, right?" she asked.

"Right," Nora promised, continuing her folding, and Quinn watched her with a sigh. It wasn't like she didn't want these siblings, they all knew she did. But between Rachel and Puck still being in New York through all this, and Quinn and Finn having to prepare for this new addition over here as well, each of them feared the girl might be feeling left out, and they didn't want that. When the others would arrive, she would ask Puck to try and talk to her, see where her head was at. Out of all of them, he could always get her talking better than anyone.

When the doorbell rang, the socks in the girl's hands slipped back to the bed. Quinn smiled, nodding for her to go on while she finished up. Nora took off running, and as she reached the top of the stairs she could see them already in the hall. "Mom! Dad!" she called, dashing down as fast as her feet would carry her.

Puck was ready to catch her when she leapt into his arms, good and wrapped herself around him. "Hey, you," he held her tight as well, kissing the side of her head… He'd missed her crazy too. When he put her down, he observed her. "You're taller again," he remarked, and she laughed before turning to her stepmother. She stretched out her arms to hug her, pressing her hand to her belly… She was even bigger than her mother, obviously.

"Can I be in the room when she's born?" she begged.

"Are you sure you want to see that?" Rachel laughed, stroking the girl's blonde hair… She'd missed that face, missed her being actually there to hold, not just to see on a screen.

"Are you crying?" Nora asked, and she went on laughing as she wiped at her cheeks.

"Nothing that lasts, see?" she was still sniffling. "Where's your mom?"

"Upstairs. We were folding laundry."

"Were you?" Rachel nodded. "I think I'll go give her a hand." She saw the look on Puck's face. "Climbing those stairs very carefully, I promise."

"Please," he told her, absently reaching to put his arm around Nora when he felt her side hug him again. He looked down to her, and he felt overwhelmed all over again.

None of them liked being away from her, but to him it was personal. Maybe he still had residual feelings over his father walking out on his family all those years ago, but he never wanted Nora to feel abandoned. Their family's situation was what it was, they had no regrets, on most issues. But just as much as Nora had had difficulty settling with staying behind while he and Rachel went to New York, he had needed to deal with the concept of having to leave his daughter behind. It was something he'd known would end up having to happen, even before Nora had, but it didn't make it any easier. He and Rachel had had their problems in dealing with it where they were concerned, but they had gotten through it.

Now though he was seeing his daughter, seeing her swallow everything back, and he could see where this could end up if they didn't address it… She had a lot of temperaments in that DNA of hers, with him and Quinn, and even with Finn and with Rachel.

"Hey, I need to go look for something. You want to come with me?"

"Okay," Nora nodded immediately.

"Well, come on, get your shoes on," he nodded, and she was off. He just hoped it would still be where he had left it. At first he had intended for it to go to his sister, but Sarah had not been up for that. In the end, maybe this was why, so he could give it to his daughter.

"Ready!" she came running back.

"Go tell them we're heading out, I'll get the car going."

TO BE CONTINUED (TOMORROW)


	2. Met the Strings

_**This is a double shift day.** There will be one more upload today: Let Me Tell You A Story, chapter 2._

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**"This Little Light of Mine"**

**2. Met the Strings**

Driving along, he had almost forgotten how much he could love something as simple as being in a car with her. She was the only one who could get away with clicking the radio along from station to station looking for something good for so long. Suddenly he'd hear her squeak and he'd know she'd found what she was looking for.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"We are going to your Nana's house," he informed her and, before she could ask which one – his mother, or Quinn's, or Finn's… "Nana P," he told her, and she frowned. "Did she try and make you eat peas again?" he chuckled, and she nodded. "They're good for you," he promised.

"They're gross," she corrected. "Why can't she make something else?"

"You'll have to ask her."

"I can't do that!" she told him, horrified, and he had to laugh.

"Then you'll just have to suck it up and eat your peas," he told her, and she frowned again. "Come on, we're not going there to eat."

"Why are we going then?"

"You'll see," he smiled, and he could see he had her curiosity.

As it turned out, his mother wasn't there when they came around. They let themselves in and went up to what had once been his room. Now it was cluttered with this thing and that… Secondary storage or early hoarding signs, who knew with his mother. Nora followed him into the room, looking around.

"This was your room?" she sneezed at dust.

"A long time ago," he confirmed, opening the closet, hoping it was still there. In the eleven years since he'd first put it there, he'd only pulled it once, to get an envelope from inside, and then he'd put it right back. He'd given the letter to his sister, as it was meant to go, but this…

"What are you looking for?" Nora asked as he dug at the back of the shelf.

"Back when your mom was pregnant with you, my father came to see me one day. He gave me something, and I couldn't take it. Thought I might give it to your aunt Sarah, but she didn't want it. Maybe it was just not meant to be hers," he told her, smiling when his fingers touched the case and he pulled it free. Nora stepped back in surprise. The shape was as much of a telltale as they came… It was a guitar case. Then it hit her and she looked to her father.

"Wait, you mean… me?" she asked, and he smirked, putting the case flat on the ground.

"Go ahead, open it." She hesitated, slowly sitting down on her knees before reaching to flip the clasps. She opened the case, and her eyes glimmered as they fell on the instrument. He crouched, watching as she reached to touch the wood. She looked at him, and he nodded: take it, it's yours. She looked so much like Quinn when she was happy… She very carefully pulled the guitar free from the case.

"Are you sure?" she asked, staring at it, and he could tell she already loved it and wouldn't be so quick to give it away, so she needed to know.

"Here," he stood and pulled out a chair. "Sit," he tapped the seat and she got up, moving to sit, still holding her grandfather's guitar. "First things first, going to show you how to hold it," he told her, slipping the strap over her head. She watched his every movement, let him guide her. He placed the body of the instrument on her right leg, put the neck in her left hand. She was making mental notes at every adjustment he made, tipping her right foot up… "Can you reach okay?" he tapped her right hand and she reached down to touch the strings.

"Yeah," she nodded, shifting a bit in her seat but maintaining the hold, relaxing into it.

"Looks good on you," Puck couldn't help but smile, seeing how natural it looked in her hands, like they'd been waiting for it all along.

"What do I do now?" she asked, anxious. He mimed down with his thumb, and she looked down, repeating the motion over the strings and releasing a few brief notes, which boosted her smile.

She repeated this a few times, getting a feel of it. She'd watched him play so many times, now as she sat there he could almost see her try to call the memories back so she could imitate him. She got to plucking at the strings, one by one, trying to ignore how giddy she was getting.

"Is that okay?" she asked, finally looking back to him, and he blinked, realizing he'd been staring.

"You're a natural," he told her, and she beamed. "You should give it a name," he indicated the guitar.

"Doesn't it already have one?" It did, though he didn't consider it as mattering anymore; it was hers now.

"Time for a change."

"Can I think about it?"

"Take all the time you need," he nodded.

"How do I do… notes, music?" she asked, and he crouched again.

"Pluck this one," he pointed to the string at the bottom and she did. "Now put this finger here," he indicated her left hand and she moved as he showed her. "And pluck it again," he indicated the string, and she did so. Hearing the difference, she had a pleased smile. "Just alternate like that," he showed her in mid-air and she watched him for a few seconds before turning her eyes back down and repeating the motion. "Easy, not so fast," he told her, and she slowed down, getting better. Knowing the perfectionist double whammy she could get with some things, thanks to both Quinn and Rachel, he knew this would hold her until she had gotten better. He could already see her experiment, reaching in different places…

He wanted to give her this, to give her this, give her something that was all hers but that they could share all the same. This wasn't about this baby or that one, about one home or the other.

He knew where the biggest hurt was. She was shared. She had parents in one place and the other, and she had to share that accordingly. Her sisters wouldn't be in the middle with her. They would each have two parents where she had four, one mom, one dad, and one home. Her sisters would never have to be apart from them, the only one either of them would be apart from at one time or another would be her… She was the in-between.

Now though they were all home together, and as they prepared for the two arrivals, they had to prepare her, too, show her that no matter what happened, her sisters wouldn't change the fact that they all loved her, and that they all wanted and needed her in their lives.

TO BE CONTINUED (TOMORROW)


	3. Arrives Soon

_**This is a triple shift day.** There will be two more uploads today: Let Me Tell You A Story, chapter 3 and Remember That Night When._

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**"This Little Light of Mine"**

**3. Arrives Soon**

Quinn had been just as anxious for Rachel and Puck to arrive as her daughter had been. There was always something special about all four of them being in the same city. They were a far cry from the teenagers they had once been, and they'd left so much drama back there you would have thought they could now fly. They were family, pure and simple.

"There space for me over here?" she looked up at the sound of Rachel's voice and smirked, seeing her waddling in.

"Take a load off," Quinn cleared the laundry off the bed and Rachel sat, kicking off her shoes and swivelling her legs up on to the bed before resting her back against the pillows. She breathed out. "Better?"

"The home stretch is kicking my a…" she paused. "You know," she gestured, refraining from the word while 'around the baby.' "Hey, come here," she waved, and Quinn scooted back to come and sit at Rachel's side and they side hugged.

"So glad you guys are home," she smiled.

"Oh, so am I," Rachel chuckled as they sat back. "I mean I stayed there much longer than I was planning to, now I'm just ready to sit back and relax until I have this baby," she declared, resting a hand to her belly. Quinn reached out to add her own.

"Getting big," she had not seen her face to face in months now, and it was hard not to get emotional, seeing her this far along.

"Getting? I'm still not entirely convinced there aren't two of them in there, no matter what my doctor says. Massive is more like it. And look at you," she gestured to Quinn, who shook her head.

"Just wait a few weeks, you'll see."

"Yes, I will," Rachel told her and, at her confused look, she smiled. "We're staying in Lima until after this one's born, too," she indicated Quinn's belly, which made the blonde smile.

"Good," she squeezed her friend's hand. "Does Nora know?"

"Not yet, we said we'd tell all three of you at dinner, so… act surprised," she winced, and Quinn laughed.

"My lips are sealed," she promised.

"How about unsealing them on something else then?" Rachel asked.

"What's that?"

"What about the name?" Quinn smiled. They had both decided they would wait to share this information when they were in the same room.

It was already such a surprise for them that they should be pregnant at the same time, give or take a few weeks, and that they had to spend it in two different cities had been so regretted that Rachel had almost backed out of the role which had taken her back to New York, but Quinn wouldn't let her. So, even being away from one another, they found ways to share in their progress. They both cheered when they had found out one and then the other were both having girls, they shared this 'horror story' and that… Quinn as the 'seasoned expert' had been there to see first time mom Rachel through everything she could. But for the names they had agreed to wait until now.

"Okay, who goes first?" Rachel asked.

"Well, you do have… seniority," Quinn frowned against the term, which made both laugh.

"Fair enough," she bowed her head. "Well, we argued it out; we both had our favorites, and neither of us could let go, I hope she's not nearly as stubborn as us…" she had spoken all this on the same breath before finally pausing to breathe, making Quinn smile.

"He might have mentioned something about that," she confirmed

"But… in the end we put all those aside and started over, together. Which is just as well. I couldn't see her as anything but the one we picked," she trailed off before looking back to Quinn. "Her name is Hannah." The thought this had brought to Quinn's mind must have carried to her face, because Rachel froze. "That's not what you guys picked, too, is it?"

"No, no," Quinn reassured her. "But it's just… it's Hailey," she revealed. Finn had been the one to think of it, and when he had told her about it, she'd thought it was perfect, refusing to consider another.

"Hannah and Hailey…" Rachel just had to laugh, understanding Quinn's surprise now. "If that doesn't have dream team written all over it, I don't know what does," she sounded so excited and Quinn laughed with her. "Middle name?" Rachel gave her a look, and Quinn just shook her head.

"We're not doing that to them," she insisted, though she knew she was only joking. Rachel gave mock indignation.

"Come on… Hannah Quinn Puckerman," she pieced together, "And Hailey Rachel Hudson." Quinn gave a smiling frown.

"It sounds like we married each other's husbands," she pointed out, and Rachel let her hands down.

"Oh… yeah… okay, forget it," she waved it off. "What's it going to be?" she asked.

"Hailey Jane," Quinn spoke, her hand going to her belly. "You?"

"We decided on Hannah Rose," Rachel shared, and they just smiled to one another… It wouldn't be long now…

They had spent the next little while just sitting there, swapping stories, Rachel on the trip from New York, Quinn on Nora and her recent adventures. She was just in the middle of one of those when the girl in question announced her return and soon joined them, hauling a guitar case.

"Where'd you get that?" Quinn asked as Nora set the case down and climbed on the bed, crawling to come rest between them, soon wrapped in Rachel's arms from behind.

"Dad gave it to me," she turned her eyes up to look at Rachel. "It was his dad's and now he gave it to me."

"He did?" Quinn smiled.

"Yeah, and he showed me some things. He showed me how to hold it, and how to do some notes," she mimed.

"Hey, do you want to know a secret?" Rachel told her, looking to Quinn, who understood.

"What secret?" Nora asked, looking back and forth between her mothers.

"Want to know your sisters' names?" Quinn asked, and her eyes grew wide. She nodded rapidly, making them smile. So they told her, about Hannah, and about Hailey. She smiled, declaring she couldn't wait to meet them, and then…

"Harper!" she blurted out.

"Who's Harper?" Rachel asked.

"Now who… My guitar, Dad said I should name it. I'll name it Harper. It'll be like my sisters: Hannah, Hailey, Harper."

"Sounds good," Rachel kissed the top of her head.

TO BE CONTINUED (TOMORROW)


	4. Gathers in Family

_**This is a double shift day.** There will be one more upload today: Let Me Tell You A Story, chapter 4._

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**"This Little Light of Mine"**

**4. Gathers in Family**

It had been a family tradition now for some time for them to gather for lunch every Sunday. Joining Finn, Quinn and Nora would be Judy, Burt, Carole, and even Rachel's fathers. The week before had been made even more special with the addition of Rachel and Puck. Now they had been back in Lima a week, and they once again gathered at the Hudson-Fabray home for lunch. As they might, the guests were soon treated to Nora's informing them of the new things happening in her life.

"I still can't remember all the notes, but Dad showed me a…" Nora was telling her Nana Judy as they both carried plates, and she was interrupted as she made her look ahead instead of back over her shoulder. "… a song."

"Is that right?" Judy smiled as they reached the dining room.

"Yeah, I can show you," Nora nodded, then hearing her mother clear her throat, "Later."

"I can't wait," Judy promised with a smile.

"It's not really a song. I mean, it is, but it's just the same notes a lot," she explained, then a moment later, almost within the same breath, "We have new neighbors, across the street, the Mackennas, they're from Scotland," she told her grandmother, and her grandfathers Berry, who were also setting things up.

"I've always wanted to go there…" Leroy commented.

"We're still young," Hiram told him, looking back to his granddaughter. "I'm guessing if you're this excited, you've made a friend?" Nora nodded.

"There's three kids, two boys and a girl, and the girl, she's in the middle and she's my age."

"That's great, dear," Judy smiled. "What's her name, did you talk to her?"

"Her name's Grace. I went and I said hello, and then we played in her yard, then she came here and I showed her Harper, and she had lunch here Tuesday, and I went to her house last night," she counted off in her head. "She's really, really nice," she smiled with excitement. "Can she come over next Sunday so you can meet her?"

"I don't see why not, if her parents don't mind," Quinn told her, and Nora grinned, just as the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it!" she ran off, and the others had to laugh. At the door, she found her other grandparents. "Hello!"

"Hey, Nora, how's it looking?" Burt asked, as he would.

"Dad's in the yard with the grill, Mom and Dad are on their way, everyone else is in the dining room," she counted off.

"I'll go see how your dad's doing," Burt went off after making sure to stop for a good hug with the girl, who then went on to get hugged by her grandmother.

"How's it going with the music?" Carole asked.

"I'm learning a song. Mom says I have to wait to later to show you guys. I should get it ready though," she nodded to her grandmother before dashing to her room for Harper. By the time she came back down, Rachel and Puck had arrived. Rachel just couldn't stop from smiling, seeing the flash of pride in her husband's eyes at spotting his little girl so attached to the instrument he had gifted her with.

"When's the concert?" he asked her.

"I don't know, after lunch, ask Mom," she called over her shoulder as she carried on toward the dining room. Rachel laughed.

"She looks better," she commented. It wasn't as though she'd been walking around with a frown on her face the week before, but there were subtle differences and her parents could see.

"New friend didn't hurt," he nodded as they followed.

Before long, lunch was served and the whole group sat around the table. Nora would usually alternate where she sat every week, to be surrounded by different people. This week, she had her father on one side and her Grandpa Burt on the other.

The conversation had gone to hearing from Rachel and Puck, how things had been since they were back in Lima. They were finally getting around to doing the baby's nursery in their Lima home. The one in New York was already all set, now there was just this. For that reason, Nora had delayed her going to stay with them until then, but they would be taking her with them after the lunch.

Everyone was still trying to get the babies' names out of Rachel and Quinn, but they kept quiet. Looking at Nora growing nervous every time they brought it up, they knew she knew, and they would tease, but she held strong.

They heard more about Nora's new friend Grace and her family. Her older brother Donny – short for Donald, named after their father – was fourteen and a pain, while her younger brother Aidan was eight and even worse.

Finally, with the meal done, and as they paused to digest before dessert, she was told she could show them her song, while Quinn, Judy and Leroy started emptying the table. "But you'll watch, right?" Nora asked them.

"You get ready, we'll be there," Quinn promised, so Nora went and opened the case, pulling out Harper and slipping the strap over her shoulder before she could pull up a chair.

She'd barely done that when they heard a clatter, and then… "Finn!" Leroy called from the kitchen and he bolted. The others followed to find Judy standing by her daughter, who gripped the counter.

"Quinn, what happened?" he asked, coming to put an arm around her. She took hold of him. "The baby?"

"I-I don't…" she shook her head, then, "Something's wrong, it's too soon," she sounded scared, and he looked it

"Can you walk to the car?" he asked, and she nodded. "Okay, come on, you'll be fine."

"Mom?" Nora asked, coming through and seeing now. Quinn looked up to her, trying to smile and look normal.

"Everything will be alright, sweetie, we just need to go to the hospital real quick and make sure everything's fine. It won't be long," she promised.

"Can I come?"

"Of course you can," Quinn breathed, looking to Rachel and Puck, who understood.

"Come, you'll ride with us," Rachel held out a hand to lead the girl along, squeezing reassuringly.

They all got in their cars, they all followed. They couldn't have left and gone home if they wanted to. Hopefully it would be nothing, but if it wasn't, then they would want to be there.

TO BE CONTINUED (TOMORROW)


	5. Runs, Runs, Comes Running

_**This is a triple shift day.** There will be two more uploads today: Let Me Tell You A Story, chapter 5 and Need This More._

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**"This Little Light of Mine**

**5. Runs, Runs, Comes Running**

Nora felt like she was dreaming. In her dreams, nothing really felt real; nothing felt. That was sort of how she was now as they were packing up in the car to rush Quinn to the hospital. She just followed Rachel and Puck to their car, but she'd look over her shoulder, to her mother, being led to the other car. Something was wrong. They didn't want her knowing, but she wasn't stupid. And if they didn't want her knowing, then… then…

Puck was at the wheel, and Rachel sat in the back with their daughter, and the guitar which had followed, strapped around her when they'd run out of the house.

"She's going to be okay, right?" she looked to Rachel, who held her hand.

"As soon as they get to the hospital, we'll be able to know more," she told her, brushing hair behind Nora's ear.

"Your hands are shaking," Nora pointed out.

"I know, I'm sorry," Rachel told her, sharing a look with Puck in the rear view mirror. "They'll take care of them."

Puck had been driving ahead of Finn's car, in effect clearing the path for them to get through as quickly as possible, so they arrived at the hospital at the same time. Puck was out of the car in a flash, flagging down an orderly to bring a wheelchair as Finn helped Quinn out of the other car. Once they were set, he went back for Rachel and Nora. The girl was quick to try and catch up with her mother, wanting to hear what was happening.

All she seemed to be able to hear though were her mother's cries of pain. "Mom?" she called, and Finn was the one to realize she was there.

"You have to stay here, okay?" he told her, trying to sound reassuring to his daughter, though he was still moving down the hall.

"No, I want to stay," she begged.

"They'll take good care of your mom and your sister, but you have to stay," he pleaded with her. She knew there would be no way around it. So she thought, and just before they reached the double doors, she pulled the necklace from around her neck and went to hand it to her mother.

"Thank you, honey," Quinn breathed, willing a smile as she took the necklace and squeezed her daughter's hand at the same time. She looked to her before they had to let go and Nora had to come to a stop and let them go on. A moment later, Puck's arms were wrapped protectively around her from behind and she whimpered, trying to be strong and thinking she would just fail within moments.

There had been no warning, everything had been fine. Now there was this, and she couldn't help but create whatever scenario her frightened mind presented. What if Hailey died, what if her mother died? No one had ever told her, and this was just… too much. She just wanted to be home, play her song for family, and go on with her day.

They'd gone and rejoined the others. Burt and Carole had come in one car, while Leroy and Hiram had driven Judy Fabray in. She had gone immediately to join her daughter and son-in-law. The others just sat with Rachel, Puck, and Nora.

It felt like no one wanted to speak, seeing the small girl who wasn't so small anymore. The days were gone where they could just say things and know it would go over Nora's head. Today she knew all too well that something bad was happening, and anything they said in front of her would be understood.

For Puck and Rachel it was a situation that struck close. There they were, with their own daughter soon to be born, but… even beyond that… For Puck it was something happening to his ex, to Nora's mother, to the girl who had given her to him. For Rachel it was her best friend, and being unable to support her was just not sitting well with her.

She felt Puck's hand at her belly without even looking, and she covered it with her own, held it – she knew what he was feeling, what he needed to feel… He needed to feel their Hannah move. When the girl gave a compliant kick, Rachel reached to lay a hand at the back of his neck as he let out a breath. He looked at her and they locked eyes: they were scared, too.

When Judy came back to see them, they were alerted by Nora. "Stay here," Puck begged his daughter, touching her cheek before getting up to go talk with Quinn's mother. It was impossible to tell what was happening, but everyone waited, on pins and needles.

Judy had returned to where she'd come from, leaving Puck to turn and face the rest of them. "What happened?" Rachel asked.

"They're admitting her, moving her to delivery," Puck announced. At this, Carole got up to go the way Judy had gone; she needed to be there for her son, for Quinn…

"What does that mean?" Nora asked, needing more to grasp. She looked back to her stepmother, who had her free hand to her mouth, hushing any sounds of concern. "Mom?" It brought Rachel back to reality, though for what little good it would do.

"Well, your little sister is going to be born now," Rachel told her.

"That's not supposed to be for weeks, Mom said," Nora shook her head.

"I know, sweetie, but she came early. That happens sometimes," Rachel explained, breathing out to steady her voice for Nora.

"So she'll be okay?" They didn't want to lie to her. They could tell her everything would be fine, but they didn't want to lie to her, and for all they knew… Something could go wrong, it could all go horribly wrong, and how were they supposed to tell the girl all that?

"Come here," Puck held out his hand for his daughter, and she gave hers to him. He walked off with her, leaving Rachel there with her fathers and Burt. When they were out of sight, Rachel had no longer been able to hold her tears, and when she first cried, Hiram moved to the chair at her side and hugged her.

She was her own worst enemy in this case. It was already too easy to worry for her best friend without out-of-whack hormones messing with her. She welcomed her father's embrace. Part of her wanted him to reassure with the same lies they wouldn't tell Nora, that everything would be fine, but he wouldn't give them and she wouldn't ask for them.

It wasn't supposed to be like this. It was going to be magical and good. Instead Hailey's birth would be surrounded with fear. All she wanted was a happy ending for her best friend… best friends, her and Finn both. They had so wanted the little girl, as much as she and Puck wanted theirs. They needed a miracle for their dream team.

TO BE CONTINUED (TOMORROW)


	6. Seeks Comfort

_**This is a double shift day.** There will be one more upload today: Let Me Tell You A Story, chapter 6._

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**"This Little Light of Mine"**

**6. Seeks Comfort**

Nora always felt better with her father holding her hand. They told her, even when she was little, when she was upset and crying, he would just have to take her hand and she would start to calm down. Now as she walked with him through the hospital halls, and he held her hand, she had her 'security blanket' on, and that was good to calm her some, but with everything she did and didn't know about what was happening, it could only do so much.

They were quiet as they walked for a while, and she looked around. Eventually, she had to talk, maybe so it wouldn't be this quiet. "Is this where I was born?" she asked.

"No, not here," he told her, remembering the day. "When you were born, we were at Sectionals, a competition for Glee Club, you know?" She nodded; of course she did. Nora knew all about her parents and her 'aunts and uncles' from McKinley High. "You took us all by surprise, coming when you did, but we were all there, all four of us. Then they took you to a place like this." He stopped and she saw they were in front of a window. Behind that window there were babies, newborn and snug in blankets. Nora's eyes lit with momentary excitement. "Just between you and me, you were the cutest one there," he told her, and she turned that Fabray smile of hers up to him.

"They won't put Hailey here, though, will they?" the smile went away, back to concern, and he sighed, standing behind her. He pointed beyond the window babies, to a row of incubators.

"No, she'll probably be over there. But you know they have doctors here, and the thing they're specialized in is taking care of babies like Hailey who might have come too early, and who might need a little help. They are going to do the best that they can to help her if she needs it. They won't abandon, same with your mom. And you know, Fabray women, you guys are tough," he cupped her chin in his palm and she looked up at him with a smile.

"Not just Fabray," she reminded him.

"That's true," he agreed.

He could remember the day Quinn had told him about how she had chosen their daughter's middle name. Already he knew she had given her the Fabray last name, but she told him she had done her best to include all the parts of her family, whether he was smart enough to realize it or not. They never said out her whole name, as it clashed somewhat with her last name. Everyone assumed the P initial stood for Puckerman, when in fact it stood for Phoebe.

Quinn knew none of them were ready to think about marriage, still in high school, but she was ready to commit to the eventuality that the daughter she had brought to life at age sixteen would be parented by herself and the three who had been there for her birth. Puckerman, Hudson, and Berry. Maybe she didn't wear their names, but there were their initials right there in her middle name. All of them, they made her who she was, and she was proud of it every day of her life.

"How are you doing?" he finally asked. She looked back down to the babies, and he knew: she understood the truth of things, but thanks to him she knew it didn't have to equate a lack of hope.

"Okay," she told him.

"You want to go back or you want to stay and watch the babies?"

"I want to wait for Hailey," she told him, moving to chairs nearby. So he went and sat at her side.

"How's the song going?" he asked her. She looked down to the guitar still dangling there, and she picked it up, positioned it on her knee by reflex.

"It's good," she told him. "I can do it no problem," she shrugged.

"Show me?" he asked with a smile; it was becoming a good thing that she had brought the instrument along, it gave them something to do.

"Here?" she hesitated, looking around.

"Why not? It'll cheer up the babies," he told her. "Isn't that what you girls do?" he spoke innocently, with mock sunshine hands, and she laughed. "Unless you don't want to, I'll understand…"

So Nora played her song. As she'd said, it was not too intricate, with plenty of repetition, but with where they were at, it could only fit.

Puck watched her, his perfect angel. He didn't know how she had turned out so well, with how young and scared they all were when she had first come. But now she was eleven, and she was her own little person. She was always more of a cuddler and a child when she was around them, not that she was a rebel and a troublemaker when left to her own devices…

They knew who she was even if she had not said a word about it to them. They didn't know if she had gotten there yet on her own. To see her around kids her age, how she interacted with girls versus boys… Maybe they had it wrong, maybe they were getting ahead of themselves, but regardless, if or when the day came that she decided to talk to them, they would be right there.

"Hey," he nudged her knee when she was done, and he made her look up. There was a handful of people dotted about the halls, watching her, and when she looked to them they gave her a smile. "I think they liked you," he told his daughter and she blushed, lowering her head to let her hair be her curtain.

"It's easy," she shrugged.

"Well, I can show you something else, if you think you're ready," he dared.

"I want to learn a lullaby," she decided, defiant. "For Hailey when she gets here. I don't want her to be scared."

"I thought you might," he told her with a smile. "Do you know what your favorite one was when you were just a baby yourself?" She thought for a moment and then nodded before proceeding to hum Brahms' Lullaby. "That's the one," he confirmed.

"Can I do that one?"

"I'm pretty sure you can do anything," he told her, and she smiled.

So they sat there and, as they waited, he showed her the lullaby. He had played it for her so many times his fingers just remembered where to go as he showed it to her. She was a fast learner, as he well expected, though she would still need to practice.

She would still be in the midst of learning the song when Judy would come to announce the birth of Hailey Jane Hudson.

TO BE CONTINUED (TOMORROW)


	7. Comes Shining

_**This is a triple shift day.** There will be two more uploads today: Let Me Tell You A Story, chapter 7 and This Could Be The One To Do Me In._

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**"This Little Light of Mine"**

**7. Comes Shining**

Quinn breathed out, looking to her left hand. It held so much of what had just happened in the last little while. There had been the IV, and a bracelet put around her wrist to match to Hailey. And there was the chain snaked around her hand, leaving in the palm of her hand the dragonfly pendant. She had put Nora's necklace in her hand, kept it there to give her strength. They had given her the golden insect for her tenth birthday. She never took it off. Giving it to her mother, the intent was clear: that necklace being with Quinn was as good as Nora being there… Right now she wished she was. She could use her sweet girl in her arms.

For now though her mind had to go to her other daughter, her little Hailey, and she was that, little. She had barely gotten to see her, to touch her hand, before they had taken her off. Finn had gone off to be as close to her as he could, with Quinn's blessing, while she was taken to her room. For now she was alone, and in the silence she clung to one sound, one memory of a sound: Hailey's first cries. She closed her eyes and breathed deep. She had not been prepared for this.

"Quinn?" She opened her eyes when she heard her best friend's voice, held out her right hand. Rachel came up and took it, giving an encouraging smile. "Congratulations," she squeezed her hand, and Quinn's face relaxed into a brief smile. "How are you feeling?" Rachel asked.

"I'm not sure, I… Everything happened so fast, and then she was there, and then they took her away," she tried not to cry… much. "I'm not in pain, if that's what you were wondering. None more than what I should be feeling at least," she breathed. She showed the dragonfly in her palm with a small smile, and Rachel matched it.

"Hey, wasn't I supposed to have the first baby?" Rachel teased, pointing to her belly, in hopes to lighten the mood further than the thought already had. Looking in Quinn's eyes, it was clear she'd need it.

"Beat you to it, sorry," Quinn took the opening gladly. "But, hey, the night is young. If you're that desperate, go and get induced," she joked, making Rachel laugh. "Come on, same birthday…"

"As fun as that might sound, I think I'll wait until she decides to come," she looked down to her belly.

"Good thinking," Quinn breathed… So much for respite.

"What'd they tell you? How's Hailey?" Quinn didn't respond right away.

"They couldn't say, they have to examine her, but they said there were some… concerns," she disliked the word in that moment more than any other word.

"She'll pull through. She'll be a fighter," Rachel spoke with confidence, with hope, with… with need to believe.

"What if she doesn't?" Quinn spoke slowly, because she had to, at least once. She wouldn't have dared do it in talking to Finn, or her mother, or anyone else, but Rachel… With her she could share her concerns without feeding another one's fears. Rachel was her best friend, she'd understand. "What if I lose her, Rachel?" her eyes teared up. The brunette leaned in to hug her as best she could.

"No matter what happens, I'm going to be there, okay? I promise. We'll stay in Lima as long as you need us." She heard a sound that came off like a 'but.' "I don't care if they have to recast my role, let the temp keep it," she rubbed at Quinn's back, letting out a breath as she pulled away and looked in her best friend's face. "And that's only if it comes to that. For all we know, Hailey could be fine and she could come home before you know it," she told her, putting on her best voice of positivity.

Quinn couldn't find words to speak, though she took in each one Rachel spoke, hoping to let them work on her. These weren't the days when they were Sunshine Girls, they couldn't make things all better with a sunny disposition.

"Tell me about her?" Rachel asked, and Quinn looked to her, made to smile as she recalled her brief encounter with her newborn daughter.

"She was small, but… she looked a lot like Nora when she was born. Blonde fuzz, and… didn't really see her eyes very well, got a feeling they might settle into that same blue though. She's beautiful," her tears were happy ones, trying to ward off the fear. "Small as she was, I could tell…"

"She's yours, what'd you expect?" Rachel smiled to her.

"For a second I thought 'just cry, please, just cry.' When they pulled her out, I didn't know what to expect, but then she did cry, and…" She let out a breath, closing her eyes. She made herself remember the good, hold on to it and tell herself everything would be fine.

When she opened her eyes, what she found pulled her suddenly away from everything else she'd felt Rachel let go of her hand, but she'd been so caught up in everything else so she hadn't questioned it. But now she saw the reason she had let go was so she could grab on to the side of the bed, with both hands.

"Rachel, you alright?" she asked, noticing the way she breathed.

"Well, it depends, what does labor feel like?" she spoke with strain. Quinn tried to sit up as best she could.

"Listen, I was joking before about the birthday thing, are you serious?"

"Would I pretend at a time like this?" Rachel cringed.

"Okay, it's okay," Quinn reached for her hands, inciting her to breathe, and Rachel did as told. "It could be false labor, that can happen."

"Maybe…" she paused all of a sudden, and crossing glances with Quinn saved her the need to say a word.

"Your water just broke, didn't it," Quinn stated, and Rachel nodded. "Breathe," Quinn told her before reaching for her call button. "Here, can you sit?" she moved to the side of the bed to make space. Rachel sat there, breathing along, breathing and… crying?

"It's all going wrong…" she told Quinn between breaths.

"Hannah will be fine, you're just about due, I mean…"

"No, it's not that, but… I was going to be with you for Hailey, and you… you were going to be there for… for Hannah, and now…" Quinn put her arms around her, guiding her to breathe along, and Rachel did.

"I know you're scared right now, but you don't have to be. You're going to get through this beautifully, I know you will. And I won't be far away, okay?" Rachel just kept breathing, but she nodded. "You can do this," she spoke at her ear, and Rachel grasped her best friend's hand in silence.

TO BE CONTINUED (TOMORROW)


	8. Won't Come Lonely

_**This is a double shift day.** There will be one more upload today: Let Me Tell You A Story, chapter 8._

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**"This Little Light of Mine"**

**8. Won't Come Lonely**

He was a father again… Nora may not have had his blood, but she had his heart and that was just as good. Now he had a second daughter, it just had to sink in, considering… He didn't want to think of it like she might not live, no… Everything would be fine. He had followed as they took her along out of the delivery room, asking what he could form the doctor. Before he could leave her, he'd begged for just a quick moment with her, and they had allowed it. He let out a breath, approaching her.

She was small, but it didn't change how he was already completely in love with her. He touched her hand, and her fingers flexed, so he placed one of his in her hand and she closed those fingers around his. "Hey there," he smiled and, feeling his eyes well up, he chuckled. "Don't tell them I cried, okay? It'll be our little secret." He lowered his head to kiss her fingers. "I have to go now, but your mom and I, we won't be far, so you'll be okay. There's a lot of people here and they can't wait to meet you, just… be strong now, Hail," he smiled to her, letting her hand go.

When he'd been left alone there in the hall, he took a few deep breaths, wiping his eyes. If he went back to Quinn with tears she would get the wrong idea. Once he was ready, he had gone back to the room. He would act as a go between for now, looking after both his wife and his daughter.

Only when he had made it to the room, the scene he found was not at all the one he expected. Instead he found Quinn sat up in bed, holding on to Rachel, who now sat on the edge of the bed, breathing deep. "… know where the nurse c… Finn!" Quinn had burst with relief when she saw him standing there. "Get the nurse, she's in labor!" Finn startled, coming up to them.

"Are you okay?" he asked Rachel.

"What kind of question is that, I'm… ow…" her frown was quickly twisted by a contraction.

"Finn. Nurse. Go!" Quinn raised her voice, and he made for the door.

"And Puck!" Rachel breathed out. "Puck, get Puck…" she called after him while Quinn coached her along.

Finn had quickly found a nurse and directed her to Quinn's room. He just hung around while they looked after Rachel, but when both she and Quinn had yelled at him, he had taken off again.

X

Puck had taken Nora back to the others, passing on the news of the birth of Hailey, as well as what little he had learned from Judy Fabray. She and Carole were off making calls, as far as he knew. The group had been left tense.

Nora sat practically wrapped around her guitar, as she thought about her sister. She knew what they knew, and that was very little already. The only clear thing to her, unfortunately, was that there would be something wrong with her sister. She tried not to think about it like that, but it couldn't be helped. Even her guitar couldn't cheer her up, and the lullaby project had sort of been left behind.

"Dad?" she frowned then when she saw Finn coming, running down the hall. Hearing the name from her, Puck had looked up as well, as had the rest of them. This couldn't be good…

"You need to come with me," Finn looked to Puck. "Rachel's in labor." He had gotten up immediately, as had Leroy and Hiram, and then the others. Nora had come up to both her fathers.

"Is Mom okay?" she asked.

"She's in pain, but that's normal," Finn promised her. Puck turned and crouched down to be eye level with his daughter.

"Honey, listen, I know you want to come, but you have to stay here."

"But…" Nora protested.

"I'm sorry, that's how it has to be," Puck told her. "It'll be fine, I promise," he told her.

"I… okay," Nora simply answered. Puck hugged her, kissing the side of her head before he got up and ran off with Finn.

Nora just stood there, with Harper pressed head down at her back, watching her fathers run off to be with her mothers, for her sisters, and she didn't know why she felt she couldn't breathe. All these things were happening at once and she felt absolutely powerless. She stood there, the only one of their family left behind.

She turned back to the rest of her family. Her grandmothers were still away doing things, and her grandfathers Berry were overjoyed, anticipating their daughter giving birth to their granddaughter. It was the first time they went through something like this, really. When she herself was born, even if they now considered her family in every way, it wasn't like this at all.

And then there was her grandpa Burt, who sat there on his own, watching her. He tapped the seat next to him and she approached, taking Harper off from around her and taking her seat. He put his arm around her and she just leaned her head to his shoulder.

"It's just one moment in time," he told her, and she breathed. The words would stay with her all her life. She smiled, settling more comfortably against him.

X

At one point they had to split up. Finn would return to Quinn, while Puck had to meet Rachel in the delivery room. The two friends paused, looked to each other. "Hell of a day…" Puck commented.

"Funny thing… having a daughter with the same birthday as yours," Finn had a dazed sort of smile.

"Well we already did," Puck smiled back, and Finn nodded, thinking of Nora. "This time just not the same one." After a moment the long-time friends hugged one another, clapped the other's back… They wouldn't always have guessed they would end up here, but now they were glad they did.

So Finn went one way to find Quinn, and Puck went the other to see Rachel through the birth of their daughter.

TO BE CONTINUED (TOMORROW)


	9. Followed From Redemption

_**This is a triple shift day.** There will be two more uploads today: Let Me Tell You A Story, chapter 9 and The Late Quinn Fabray._

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**"This Little Light of Mine"**

**9. Followed From Redemption**

She had taken the gown they gave her, though she was having difficulty getting up to go and put it on. It wasn't the pain; she was in between contractions, but somewhere in her mind maybe, with what had happened with Quinn before, and the fact this was her first baby, she couldn't help but be afraid something would go wrong when she got up.

"Rachel?" she heard, and she barely had time to look up that his arms were around her and she breathed into the hug, holding him back. "Is she coming? Did they check?"

"Yes," she laughed.

"Lie down, I'm here," he told her, sounding partially stressed and nervous all of a sudden.

"I will, I just…" she held up the gown.

"Need a hand?" he asked and she gave a pleading nod. "Want me to shut the door first?" he followed, and she gave another nod. He went and did so before coming back and helping her up.

"I don't want to fall," she told him, and he shook his head, taking her hands up to kiss them.

"You won't. And either way, I'm here, not leaving you." Having received the reassurance she had needed, and feeling more secure now that he was there, she got to start changing out of her clothes. Absentmindedly he would reach and help her, as she tugged her shirt over her head, followed by the sleeveless underneath. Her belly exposed, he couldn't help but touch it. "Don't tell anyone, but I'm pretty sure you're the cutest and the hottest pregnant woman I ever saw," he told her, and she chuckled. "No, you are."

"Yeah, sure," she stared at herself.

"Hey, I wouldn't lie," he told her.

"I'm hu…"

"Hugely attractive," he cut her off, and she bowed her head with a blushing smile. "Our daughter is going to be so lucky to have you, just like Nora has… and I bet she has your smile."

"Good thing you don't have that Mohawk anymore, might give her ideas," she teased, but then paused as the next contraction hit. He helped her through it, and eventually was able to help her continue to change.

"Swear if you weren't in labor right now…" he shook his head and she smacked his arm. "Ow," he laughed. "Made you smile, didn't I?"

"Shut up," she smirked. She slipped on the gown and he tied it for her before moving on to stripping off everything else that had to go.

"Now will you lie down?" he asked, and she went to oblige him, like 'See? Happy?' and he fluffed the pillows.

"Give those here," she indicated her discarded clothes. At the look on his face, she shrugged. "I want to fold them." He shook his head. "Yes, you married a freak," she frowned, folding her pants.

"And prouder every day," he smiled and she smiled back.

"Love you, too," she told him, and he just breathed out, taken with the emotions stacking up in him. "Hey… look at us… we made it," she finished folding. He knew what she was talking about. In that moment they weren't the expecting parents, the spouses, she wasn't the rising star… She was the girl he'd fallen in love with, back at McKinley High, the one he'd come so close to losing.

"I know I've said this before, but… everything that's happened, that's led us to where we are, as bad as it was, it brought us there, and that's a pretty good trade-off I think."

"I remember the last time you told me that," she squeezed his hand, looking at his wedding ring.

"So you don't need to be scared today, okay? Put everything else out of your head, just focus on this, and on her," he looked to her belly, where her other hand rested. "I've seen you do a lot of crazy things under impossible conditions, you're relentless." To this he smiled, thinking how Nora had absorbed that quality from her. "You got this." At her smirk, he frowned. "What?"

"Well, if you married a freak, I married a dork," she accused. He gave her a look, and she brushed at his face to make it go away. "But a badass one," she promised with a laugh.

"Okay, I can deal with that," he told her. "Only people who can call me that are my girls," he declared.

"What if we have a boy someday? You know, Noah Jr…" she suggested, and he gave a pensive nod.

"You're already there?"

"Well not right away, come on," she shook her head. "Maybe in a couple years," she told him.

"Then he can call me a badass dork, too," he promised.

One more contraction later, she breathed, looking at him. He was all about his family, and that was one of the things she loved the most about him. He was still the boy from McKinley, but he had grown up. And to his family he was at his sweetest.

Rachel had seen him be a father to Nora these past eleven years, and as much as he could pass off that she was one way because of her, another way because of Quinn or Finn, he had given so much of himself in her. She was his angel, and he would always protect her. So the day she had found out she was pregnant with Hannah, she knew this little barely forming person would be put into the care of two parents who would love her wholly.

"By the way, I told your dads we'd name her after your grandmother."

"What? We already…" He smirked. "Now? Now you're making jokes?"

"Why not?" he shrugged.

"Do you even know my grandmother's name? Why would you want to put our kid through that?"

TO BE CONTINUED (TOMORROW)


	10. Rests Fragile & Strong

_**This is a double shift day.** There will be one more upload today: Let Me Tell You A Story, chapter 10._

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**"This Little Light of Mine"**

**10. Rests Fragile & Strong**

Finn returned to Quinn's room to find his wife had fallen asleep. He smiled, pulling a chair up to her bedside. The leg screeched against the tiles and he startled, wishing he could swallow the sound, but it was too late.

"Hey…" Quinn blinked.

"Go back to sleep, he insisted, sitting down.

"I wasn't… just closed my eyes for a second."

"Yeah, okay," he smiled, saying 'you know you were.' She just resettled with a smile of her own.

"How's Rachel, did they get her ch…"

"She's getting settled in, Puck's with her, it's happening," he nodded along. Quinn breathed out, amazed. "I know…" he agreed.

"I never thought it would happen like this, the same day… I was going to finish fixing up her presents, and…"

"You can still do all that," he promised.

"I know, I know," she took a breath, let the silence hang for a moment. "Have they said anything yet?" She didn't need to say what about.

"Nothing," he shook his head, concerned, too.

"They should have been back by now," she shook her head, feeling a lump at her throat, and he squeezed her hand.

"They're just making sure. That's good, right?" he focused on reassuring her, letting his own fears be squashed by it. But it wasn't working so easy, on either of them.

"Something's wrong. I can feel it, and I know you can, too." His brow furrowed with his shared worries, and he moved up to lie down next to her, putting his arm around her shoulders and bringing her close. "I'm just…"

"I know," he kissed her forehead. "She'll pull through. And if there's something that's… not working, or if she's got anything… we'll be there, right there for her, both of us, and everyone else," he promised. They didn't want to consider the possibility, but by then they knew they needed to start to.

"What if I did something…" her voice was small against him.

"No, Quinn…"

"I've been running around all week, getting all these things done at work, and I kept telling myself I should slow down, but I was running out of t…"

"This isn't your fault," he cut her off, tilting her head up so she'd look at him. "You've been so careful all these months. And this time you weren't even… funking it up in Glee Club," he told her, pulling a laugh from her tears, which made him smile. "Okay? So this wasn't your fault, whatever it is." She still didn't look completely convinced, needed to hold on to just a bit of that possibility, not knowing.

The doctor had finally come a few minutes later, at which point Quinn had fallen asleep again, in Finn's arms. "Sorry, we just…" Finn started, then looking to the woman, "Should I wake her?" he asked.

He didn't know a nod could ever make chills run up one's spine so fast.

He'd been careful as he woke her up, and at first she just gave him a semi sheepish smile to say 'sorry, did it again,' but he nodded up and she saw the doctor. She moved to sit up, while Finn stood and got back to his chair. They didn't have to ask whether Hailey was alright. Now what they needed to know what was wrong with her and how bad it was.

As the doctor had run through the explanation of their initial concerns, their examination after the birth, and the tests they had run, Quinn just had to take in all the medical talk and turn it to a place she could see for what it was. Hailey was sick, there was a defect, and then the big one: they had to operate, today.

They had needed a moment to digest the news, but they managed to keep it together and ask what they needed to ask. After the doctor had gone, the room was pin drop silent.

"She'll be okay," Quinn decided, looking up to her husband as he quietly paced the room. He turned to look at her, and she gave a small nod. He came back to her, sitting on the edge of the bed and bringing her into a hug. He was ready to face it all if she was. There wouldn't be tears, not now. The time for that had passed. Now they had to focus on their daughter and whatever came next.

"What do you want me to do?" he asked her, pulling back. She ran a hand through her hair, breathing, thinking.

"Can you get… my mom, your mom, and Burt in here?"

"Yeah, okay," he nodded. She looked to her left hand, the dragonfly still in her palm. He looked, too, touching the pendant. "What about her?" Quinn had been thinking about that, too.

"Don't tell her. Not yet, I…" For a moment her truce with strength wavered, but she regained it. "For now, we'll need to talk some things through, and I don't want her to have to sit through that. Once we know more, I… I don't know…" He put his hand to the side of her head, giving an understanding smile before leaning in to kiss her. She held him there, taking the strength he gave her.

"I'll take care of it," he promised before getting up.

"Check on Hailey on the way?" she begged, and he bowed his head. "And if you hear anything about Rachel…"

"Got it," he went.

She lied back, breathing out. As much as she'd try to keep it together, she knew at any moment she could lose it again. She didn't want Nora to see that and worry more than she had to. Hailey would be okay, Hailey would be okay… She'd call it in her head as long as she needed to, not knowing it from a fact, a hope, or a delusion.

TO BE CONTINUED (TOMORROW)


	11. Flees For Curiosity

_**This is a triple shift day.** There will be two more uploads today: Let Me Tell You A Story, chapter 11 and Step Forty, Recognize a Willing Ear._

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**"This Little Light of Mine"**

**11. Flees for Curiosity**

Nora looked down the hall, back to her grandpa Burt. "Can I get money for the vending machine?" He looked down at her.

"On one condition," he told her, reaching for dollar bills and coins. She nodded. "Get me a chocolate bar, but don't tell your grandma Carole," he looked her in the eye, and she laughed. He pushed the money in her hands. "Okay, she's coming, go, go," he nodded, and she dashed off, taking Harper – she wouldn't just leave it there.

She slipped the strap over her shoulders as she went, letting it hang over her back as she went. She knew where the machines were, she'd passed them before, when she'd gone walking with her father. She bought the chocolate bar as requested by Burt, then got one for herself. She slipped the change in her pockets and walked along with the chocolate in hand. But the she stopped.

She knew her father had told her to stay there with her grandparents, she got that. But with the time that had passed, she was only seeing more of her parents go away, and she didn't really know anything. She needed to know what was going on.

She stood there, debating whether to go or to return to her grandparents. The second choice would have been the right one, but that didn't mean she would choose it. Instead, she took very cautious steps, with a face that just screamed 'I'm not supposed to be here.' She made it all the way to the end of the corridor when she heard… "Hey!" and she froze, almost putting her hands up.

"I'm sorry! I wasn't…" she looked up, and she saw… Burt. She huffed, frowning at him. "Don't do that, you scared me!" she looked around, then back to him when she heard him laugh. "How did you know?"

"Please, you think this is my first day? Your uncle Kurt used to pull stuff like this all the time," he told her. He knew she wasn't so much angry as she was startled. After a moment she gave him a raised eyebrow pulled straight out of the Fabray family trait catalogue and presented him with his chocolate bar. He made to look around and check before he turned a mischievous grin to her and opened the wrapper, which made her laugh. He took her to go sit so they could talk and eat their chocolate freely. She could feel him looking at her as she opened her own wrapper.

"What?" she asked him.

"You can talk to me, you know?" he told her, and she hesitated. "It's been a big, crazy day, and I know you've had to just sit back here with us and that's not where you want to be." She stayed quiet. "You're worried about your sister, I get that. You're scared?" he asked, and she nodded. "Doesn't have to stay that way." She looked to him. "Your dad said you were learning to do a lullaby?" Her hand went to Harper's strap by reflex, and she nodded. "How's that going?"

"I don't know, I just sort of stopped," she admitted.

"I'm sure your sisters would enjoy it…" She looked back. "Hey, now, I know they're just… one newborn and one on the way to being born right now, but they say music is good for babies and all…" He let this idea sit with her, and she understood. "And I want to see you play, I was promised a song," he told her, just as he yanked his half-eaten chocolate bar out of his hand. "Hey, that's…" Nora gave a 'discreet' signal and he looked back to see her coming. "Found her," he pointed to Nora. Carole observed the girl with two chocolate bars in her hands, and her husband with the telltale smudge at the corner of his mouth, she gave him a mock stern look.

"Used an eleven-year-old," she shook her head, which made Nora bite back a laugh.

"How can you even suggest that?" Burt made to sound hurt. "I mean look at that face," he pointed to Nora, who made like she couldn't see him, eating her chocolate. "Oh, Oh I see how it is," he nodded slowly.

"Come on, let's go," Carole held her arm out and Nora went to walk by her side, Burt following.

"What do I do with this?" she held up Burt's half of a bar. Carole took it for herself it seemed, but then held it out to her husband.

"Special occasion," she told him, and he bowed his head: got it.

When they got back to the waiting area, they found Leroy, Hiram, and Judy standing in a huddle with Finn. Nora stood there, watching them. She wasn't sure what they were talking about, but when Hiram saw her and the others, he tapped Finn's arm and they stopped talking.

"What's going on?" Nora asked. Finn came up to her and crouched down to keep her having to look up.

"I need your grandmas and your grandpa Burt to come with me, so you'll stay with your granddads, okay?"

"Is Hailey okay?" she asked, and she could see him take a moment to choose his words.

"They're taking care of her now, and they're doing everything to make her better," he promised. "You just need to wait a little longer," he told her this like he was apologizing. By now, she sort of half-expected it, so it didn't throw her.

"Okay," she told him, and he hugged her. She knew he wasn't telling her everything, and he knew she knew, but there was nothing either of them could do about it.

So she sat, looking down the hall where they had all disappeared. She only had two now. What if her stepmom needed them, what would happen to her, would they just leave her with a nurse or something?

It was just a moment in time…

She breathed, and she pulled Harper before herself, replicating the now oft rehearsed position her father had taught her, with the adjustments she'd made over the time she had been learning. She closed her eyes, recalling how her father had showed her the lullaby. She went at it slowly, no need to rush.

She couldn't say it would hold her as long as it had to, but for the moment it was doing the trick. She thought about getting to play it for her sisters… Yes, she was beginning to settle into this. She had a sister now, soon a second… and she couldn't be happier.

TO BE CONTINUED (TOMORROW)


	12. Should Be Here

_**This is a double shift day.** There will be one more upload today: Let Me Tell You A Story, chapter 12._

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**"This Little Light of Mine"**

**12. Should Be Here**

Finn had caught up his mother, stepdad, and mother-in-law on the way to Quinn's room. "You guys go ahead, let her know I'll be right there?" he told them.

"Going to check on Hailey?" Carole guessed, and he gave her the look she had nicknamed his dad look. She smiled and gave him a quick hug. "You go on, we've got this." He nodded, letting out a breath as he went off down the hall and the other three went into the room.

Quinn looked up when she heard the footsteps, felt the breath in her betray her when she saw her mother walk through the door. In that moment she was a girl in distress, and there was her mom. Judy could see her teetering on the edge and she moved up to hug her.

"They'll take good care of her," she promised.

"I know," Quinn's voice quivered. "I just want to hold my daughter…"

"You'll get to, before you know it," Carole promised, coming up as well. "Probably not today, but…" Quinn gave a small nod.

"We'll be right here," Burt promised. Quinn took a moment to recover from the momentary break, drying her tears, breathing.

"So Finn told you?" she asked.

"He did," Judy confirmed. "He went to check on her now, see if there's anything new to tell," she went on, and Quinn smiled to herself… He would do that.

"You know, the crazy thing is it never really crossed my mind anything like this could happen. Then back home, when I felt…" she breathed. "I was just trying to stay positive, I thought… Now I think I was just not going to even consider it because it'd terrify me… I know, because my heart is going a mile a minute now…" She laughed nervously, and her mother rubbed her back. "I'll be okay… she's having a worst day than I am. Fresh into the world and they're cutting into her…" she frowned at the thought. "Do you think any part of her will remember that? I mean I know she's small, but something like that happening to you right away…" she seemed to speak to herself, gripped with this concept of instant trauma in Hailey's fresh new mind.

"She won't even know it happened," Judy promised, "Not unless you tell her."

"I'm sorry, I try not to go to that place," she bowed her head, cleared her throat before looking back up. "How about something else… Rachel, how's that going?"

"Still in delivery, no news, good news, right?" Burt told her.

"So, her and Puck, they don't know about Hailey and the operation?" They shook their heads. "Okay…" she paused, thought about it. "Don't tell them, please?" she asked.

"Why not?" Carole hesitated.

"Because I know them, more importantly I know her. She's already got enough to worry about without this distracting her."

She would have wanted to be with her, with Rachel, when she had Hannah. Right now, if Hailey had been alright, she would have found a way to be there by her side. But right now, her presence was needed here, her mind needed to stay on her daughter, her baby Hailey, all while she kept thinking of her elder daughter.

She thought of Nora, her miracle in a situation, a teen pregnancy, that should have been a nightmare by all accounts. But she had made it though, in no small part thanks to Rachel, first and foremost, and thanks to Finn, and Puck, and all of their families. And from that she had gotten Nora… and she missed her little face so much it ached right then.

"How's Nora doing?" she asked.

"She's with Rachel's fathers," Burt told her, and she looked to him.

"Not what I asked." He looked back to her.

"She's scared," he nodded, and Quinn let out a breath. "She doesn't know what's happening. All she sees is all of us running left and right." He paused. "You could tell her, you know? She's a smart kid."

"But she is a kid, and she shouldn't have to go through this."

"She shouldn't have to, but she is… Sound familiar?" he asked. His voice was so calm, like it would be, telling her he wasn't saying these things out of a place of upset… and he was right, deep down, which only made it worse.

"I don't want to pull her into this," she held, looked up. "I could decide to just tell her, and I'd have her, here, in my arms, within a minute. It'd be that easy and it would do my heart so much good, because I miss her… so much…" She was near tears again. "But I can't do that to her, so I'm enduring it. That's just how it has to be."

"Quinn?" She looked to see Finn was back. "Are you okay?" he asked when he saw her face. She reached to wipe at her eyes.

"I'm okay. Any news on Hailey?"

"She's in surgery, I got nothing," he shook his head. So now they waited…

It seemed that was what this was, what this whole day had become about, waiting, and missing one another. Their family was large and kind of complicated, but that wasn't a problem because it worked for them. They counted their blessings to know they had it pretty good.

And then there was this day, and for how much they wanted to be near one another, they were unable to. Mothers, daughters, sisters, friends, and everyone else around them… They were spread all over this floor. One, a precious new life, was being taken care of to mend a body that had not come as it should have, come sooner than expected, and had no idea of the love and the energy being funneled to her.

Then another, a giant in her mind but still too young at heart to be submitted to certain things, protected by all whether she liked it or not.

One more who yearned for both of them, but was parted from them not by choice, not where she was concerned, and clung to the knowledge that, at some point, this would end, and she would have her girls back.

The last, in reality the last two, had yet to meet, though they had shared a body for nine months. Everything of the mother's sanity hung from the need for her daughter to be born, and to be healthy, after seeing what had happened to the others.

They were so close to one another, but it could have been towns, oceans, worlds away, so long as they were kept to their corners. They were caught up in emotions only the others could soothe, and soon they would begin to feel that relief, maybe, just maybe. All that was needed was one person to start the whole thing going, to take a chance.

TO BE CONTINUED (TOMORROW)


	13. Remembers & Ponders

_IT'S **DAY 1000!**  
So here we are then, four digits… I'm as shocked as you are ;) Shocked and giddy :D Anyhoo I just wanted to say real quick, if you're out there, and you read my stories, either every day, or every other day, here and there, whatever, if you read my stories, I want to say thanks :D In a little over three months it will have been three years, so let's go! :D (If you want to say hi, the review box is right there ;))_

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_**This is a triple shift day.** There will be two more uploads today: Let Me Tell You A Story, chapter 13 and The Future Marries the Present._

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**"This Little Light of Mine"**

**13. Remembers & Ponders**

Nora had turned her guitar to rest on her back again, after a man sitting in the waiting room with them had started arguing about kids making noise, including some words which made the eleven-year-old's eyebrows go up. If any of her parents heard her say those words, she would have been grounded for… she wasn't sure she would have been ungrounded at a given time… Her grandpa Leroy had nearly lost it on him, and that had opened the argument to a new set of words that were even worse to her for attacking her grandfathers personally. The man had been removed in the end, but all three of them left sitting there after were upset.

Nora had gone up to Leroy, putting her thin little arms around his neck, and he breathed out, hugging her close. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have been playing here…" she told him, and she felt her grandpa Hiram's hand at her back.

"Don't go blaming yourself for people like that," Hiram told her. "You could stand on that table there and just play as loud as you want if it were up to me. Your lullaby is beautiful," he promised. Leroy took a breath, sitting back.

"Here, sit," he told his granddaughter and she sat on his knee. "Your grandpa Hiram's got it right, and this is a beautiful day, so let's not spoil it," he told her, regaining his smile for her. She nodded to him, then thought.

"What was it like, when you got Mom?" she asked. She knew part of it, how they had a surrogate and all that, not like she thought they had made her together, but this was something she wanted to hear, to clear her mind and let happiness in again. It would work on them, too, judging by the smiles they got.

"Your mom was the most beautiful thing we had ever seen, we thought 'can it really be that she would be ours?' And then she turned those eyes on us and we knew," Leroy told his granddaughter, who was all smiles now.

"Didn't take long for us to discover the pair of lungs she had in her," Hiram looked to his husband, who gave a knowing nod. "He was always afraid he would drop her, wouldn't pick her up unless he was stationary, or seated, like he was boxed in good and she couldn't slip out of reach," Hiram mimed, and Nora just had to laugh, seeing the look on Leroy's face.

"You're one to talk, you would have had a walk-in closet for her if I didn't keep an eye out with how many clothes you got her."

"She looked adorable, and don't you deny it." Hiram kept his chin up.

"Of course, yes, but she grew out of them, and then what happened?" Leroy asked.

"What, we gave them away, we didn't throw them away," Hiram reminded.

"He did the same with you," Leroy looked back to Nora. "Your parents didn't know what to do with them anymore. And now I know he's going to do the same, for Hannah and probably Hailey, too," Leroy turned a shake of the head to his husband, and the banter was good and playful, which was sort of what Nora had hoped for.

But now they'd gone and mentioned Hailey, and her mind had wandered. She bit back at her lip, trying to decide, and if her mother were there she would have called her on it in an instant: she said it was her tell.

She slipped off Leroy's knee, and while the two of them were talking, he didn't even notice, neither did Hiram. Now she was determined. She would just go to the window with all the babies and see Hailey. They would have put her there by now, in the front or in those special ones at the back. She didn't know what to expect, but she just wanted a peek at her sister.

She made it to the window, and she just smiled. She liked looking at the babies, because they were just that… babies. No one said mean things to them, or called them names, or hated them in any way. Even if someone didn't 'like' babies, it didn't mean they would hurt them, in any sense of the word. And they didn't even know things like that could come their way. For them, right now, the world had to be pretty wonderful.

For them, everything was simple, but for her… She had grown up with her grandfathers Berry, her uncles Kurt and Blaine, her 'aunts' Santana and Brittany… If she looked at them, and she looked at her mother and stepdad, father and stepmom, her grandparents Burt and Carole… she saw the same thing, the thing they all had, just… love. And her, well… She'd never really stopped to think about it, not too much, and she was just eleven so it wasn't like she wanted all those things yet, but if someone were to ask her, she knew. It didn't mean she would tell them, but… she liked girls, and that was it.

But then there were people like the man in the waiting room, and she saw how upset he made her grandfathers… He had scared her, on a whole other level from how she was scared for Hailey. She sort of remembered what it was like, being young enough that she didn't understand that there were people like that, not that she understood now, but back then she didn't even know that was something that existed. So for that, she envied the babies.

They couldn't even see her, she guessed, with how they couldn't move their heads that way yet, but she didn't care. She'd try to get their attention, smiling, waving, making faces… Those were the original Sunshine Girls and Boys right there… She couldn't stop smiling.

She looked for Hailey, reading all the little cards that showed pink for girls, but found no Hailey J. Hudson. She frowned, looking to the ones in the back, but the ones that were occupied, even from her distance, she knew they couldn't be Hailey… She wasn't there.

Maybe they'd taken her to her mother's room? But if that was the case, then they would have called her in, right? This didn't make sense. So now her needs were clear: she needed to go further, to find her mother's room and get to the bottom of it. Maybe she should have gone back to her grandfathers, but well she was here now, and she… she just wanted to see her mother, too. So she went to the nurse's station and planted herself there.

"Excuse me?" she asked, and the woman looked up. "I'm looking for my mother's room, please? She just had my baby sister," she explained politely. The woman looked at her, hesitant. "Please?"

"What's the name?" she finally asked.

"Fabray-Hudson," the woman looked.

"At the end of the hall, last one on the left," she pointed, and Nora smiled.

"Thank you!" she walked on down that hall like she belonged there, while inside her heart was pounding. She hoped they weren't upset with her, she…

She heard voices inside the room as she neared… their voices.

TO BE CONTINUED (TOMORROW)


	14. Needs to Know

_**This is a double shift day.** There will be one more upload today: Let Me Tell You A Story, chapter 14._

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**"This Little Light of Mine"**

**14. Needs to Know**

She came up just to the door, waiting there when she started picking up on some words. It dawned on her that she was not meant to be there, but she was here now, and she heard her sister's name, and that kept her from moving. Her mother and stepdad were talking with the grandparents, telling them something about how the doctor had explain the operation and t…

The mention of the word 'operation' had made her gasp and backpedal, which knocked the guitar neck into the wall and drew Fin's attention. Their eyes met. She moved away.

"Nora?" He stood and headed out in the hall, while Quinn looked up at the sound of her daughter's name. "Stop, hang on," Finn called after her, and she did as told, turning around and looking up at him. "Why'd you run?" he crouched in front of her.

"I'm not supposed to be here, I'm sorry," she hesitated, looking at him. She wanted to ask him things, but she didn't want him upset with her, or…

"Maybe not, but under these circumstances, can't say I blame you," he told her, and she looked up.

"Is Hailey going to be okay?" He knew she had heard enough that tiptoeing around the truth just wasn't going to cut it this time.

"We don't know yet," he told her, holding one of her hands in each of his, and he could see her breath catch. "But, hey, they are going to do everything they can, and if the operation goes okay…" He could see how the word 'if' had caught her up. "Whatever happens, we'll make it through this, alright?" She knew he was trying to be positive for her, no matter how scared he actually was, and as hard as it was, she gave him a nod.

"Can I go see Mom now?" she asked, and he smiled – at this point, there was no point keeping her back. He stood up, guiding her back to the room.

When she got there and saw her mother sitting up in her bed, she felt a surge of happiness. Quinn had seen her and immediately welled up, motioning for her to come over. Nora had gone up in a flash, put Harper aside and climbed up to the space next to her mother, knees to the mattress as she hugged her close. Quinn squeezed right back, feeling her trembling, and she wasn't sure if it was from joy to see her, or fear for her sister, or both… Quinn just knew that she hadn't felt this energized since they had left home.

"Hi baby…" Quinn breathed, not letting go… Nora wasn't either. When they finally did pull back, they didn't release their arms yet. "Are you doing okay?" Quinn softly asked, reaching to straighten some hair off Nora's face. She nodded. "Are you hungry, do you need to eat?"

"I'm fine, Mom," Nora promised. They looked in one another's eyes, and it was always like they could see right into the other's thoughts, or at least their emotions. And Quinn could see something.

"Did something happen?" she asked, and Nora shrugged. "No? You sure?" she asked, and Nora looked back to her.

"I went… to the window, where they have all the babies, but Hailey wasn't there, so I just… I needed to know. Now I kind of wish I didn't," she lowered her head to her mother's shoulder, and Quinn let her settle there, looking over her head to her husband and the others; they weren't fooled either.

"I'm really glad you're here," Quinn promised her. "I missed you," she told her, and she would have given her all her warmth.

"I'll go back, I swear," Nora told her. "I'll stay with granddads, I won't come unless it's okay," she reinforced the hug, and Quinn just had nothing but love.

"I know," she told her. "Let's just hold a little while longer though, yes?"

"Please?" Nora smiled.

When she had left her mother's room, loaded up in hugs and kisses from all of them there, she had wondered… It was only fair, while she was already there… So she went back to the desk and the same nurse. "Can you tell me what room my mom is in, she's having my sister." The woman stared at her. "My other mom," she clarified.

"You have two moms and they're both having babies today?" the woman asked, incredulous, but Nora nodded.

"With my dads." The nurse sighed. "This one is Berry-Puckerman," she waited until the woman grudgingly looked it up and directed her. "Thank you!"

"Got any more mothers on this floor?"

"No, just the two," Nora told her before heading off where she'd been directed. She found the room and there found her father and stepmom, who looked a lot more out of sorts than Nora was used to see, though that was normal. She remembered what her stepdad had told her, about not telling the other two about Hailey, almost like he'd known she would go there next. She had no idea why they didn't want them knowing, but she would keep the secret. She stepped up, seeing things looked almost calm at this point, not that she knew just what was supposed to happen.

"Hey, well what do we have here," Puck smiled from Rachel's bedside. She looked over and breathed out when she saw Nora there. "Did you sneak off?" Puck asked.

"A little bit," Nora admitted. She came up, taking her stepmom's hand, smiling along… She had missed her, missed them both, she didn't realize how much until now. But she wouldn't cry, not now, too happy. "Are you okay? Does it hurt a lot?"

"I'll tell you when you're older," Rachel reached to touch her daughter's cheek. Nora frowned – why did they always say that?

"I've been working on a lullaby," she turned this into a smile, excited to share.

"Have you?" Rachel looked touched.

"How's it going over there?" Puck asked. Nora looked to him. She couldn't take too long or he'd know she was lying.

"I don't know, no one tells me anything."

"Don't worry about it," Rachel told her, breathing deep, and Nora turned back to her. "Before long you'll have two little sisters to look after, and you can tell them they're too young," she joked, and Nora laughed.

"I don't want to do that, I just want to have them," she shrugged. "Can you guys stay here, after?" she begged. "If you go back to New York now and I stay here, Hannah won't know me…" she pleaded. Rachel looked to Puck; they had that thought as well.

"We'll figure something out, I promise, okay?" Puck told her, while Rachel breathed on. Nora nodded to him – when he made her a promise, he kept it, always.

"Can I help? What can I do?" she looked back to her stepmother.

"You're doing it already," Rachel told her. That girl had been as good as her daughter from the moment she was born, before she and Puck had gotten back together, gotten married… Having her here now just boosted her spirits enough to get her ready for the next part, for Hannah to come.

TO BE CONTINUED (TOMORROW)

**Dear anon,  
****Here's the thing: when two characters are listed as the PRIMARY characters, it doesn't mean  
****they will be primary in a romantic capacity. This series is about friendship between them so, no, it's not Faberry.  
****It not being in accordance to your ship of choice does not negate the work put into it and the whole series  
****which led to this moment, and since you are anon, I had to explain myself here. Thank you, and good day.  
****(PS: Even if I doubt you'll ever read this, if it's Faberry you're looking for from me, check out:  
*** The Customer You Are Trying to Reach  
* Let Me Tell You A Story, chapter 13


	15. Holds to the Heart

_**This is a double shift day.** There will be one more upload today: Stepping In, Stepping Up._

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**"This Little Light of Mine"**

**15. Holds to the Heart**

They had somehow backtracked to arguing over an incident with one of Hiram's exes a good thirty-five years ago before he noticed. "Where'd Nora go?" he looked around, while Leroy noticed as well. They quickly got up to their feet and began scanning the area, moving up the hall. "How long has she been gone?" he looked to his watch.

"She can't have gone far, and she'll be easy to spot."

"Unless someone grabbed her, and…"

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves, Hiram. Excuse me," he stopped at the nurse's station. "We're looking for our granddaughter, has she been through here? This high, dark blonde hair, blue eyes…"

"Guitar on her back," Hiram finished. The woman's face spelled recognition.

"The one with two moms?"

"That's the one," Leroy nodded, and the nurse pointed the way. "There, see? Thank you," he told his husband before thanking the nurse.

They landed in their daughter's room, finding her with Puck on one side and Nora on the other. "Why did you just go like that?" Hiram breathed, moving up to hug her. "We were worried sick…" he breathed.

"He was bordering on over-dramatic," Leroy commented.

"Sorry," Nora cringed. She knew her grandpa Hiram was notorious for fearing losing sight of her, and her stepmom when she was a kid, too.

"Nora, you didn't tell them?" Rachel asked, and the sorry face turned to her.

"But I'm okay, see, it's fine," she looked up to her grandfather, who gave her a face. She replicated it, making her laugh.

"Well now that we're here, how are you doing?" Leroy came up to his daughter's bed side. She breathed in and out.

"Turns out she's not in nearly as much of a hurry to get out as we thought," she told them, running a hand along her belly. Nora pressed her own next to Rachel's.

"Come here and play her out," Puck teased, nodding to his daughter, and Rachel turned a glare on him.

"Not now, Noah," she pointed a finger at him. He came up to her, kissing her on the forehead, and she breathed out. "Mom's a little snappy right now," she looked back to Nora apologetically.

"We'll leave you two now," Leroy nodded, pulling at his husband and his granddaughter to come. Nora managed to get in a quick kiss goodbye with her stepmom before she had to follow her grandfathers.

"No more running off without telling us," Hiram pleaded with her as they went. "If you want to talk around, that's okay, just tell us."

"I will, I swear," she looked up to him. "Can we get something to eat?"

"It is getting to be about that time," Leroy noticed.

"And maybe we can bring something back for the others?"

"You want to go back and see them, you can just say so," Hiram 'translated.' They went down to the cafeteria, first getting something for themselves and sitting to eat before they could go and serve the rest of the family. As Nora dug through her bowl of macaroni and cheese, she looked to her grandfathers.

"If they don't want to tell… Mom and Dad," she meant Quinn and Finn, "To Mom and Dad," she meant Rachel and Puck, "About Hailey… Is it because they think… she might not…" She couldn't bring herself to say the word 'die' at this point.

"Sweetheart, no," Hiram shook his head, looking to her. "It doesn't mean that, only that… it would make things more complicated, and she's already got Hannah on the way, you know? It's nothing to worry about," he assured her, and after a moment, she nodded. "Now, eat your mac 'n cheese before I take it from you," he held up his fork, and she gasped, pulling her plate closer to herself.

"No, no," she reprimanded him.

X

Back in her room, Rachel had become so focused all of a sudden and Puck wasn't sure why. "Rachel?" she looked to him. "Are you…"

"Something's wrong," she declared, and his skin became prickly. He moved up to her.

"What is it? Hannah? Where does it hurt?"

"What? No, I…" she stopped him from leaping on the call button. "No, I didn't mean something wrong with the baby, not… not this one." He would still need a moment to calm down.

"What's… What do you mean?" he asked.

"No one's saying a thing about Quinn, or Hailey… They would keep me posted, they know I'm supposed to be there, I…" He took her hands and she breathed out.

"You're right where you're supposed to be," he promised her.

"But you agree something's not right," she looked up to him, breathing along.

"I don't know, but for now you need to focus on this girl here," he smiled. "You're doing great, okay?"

"Okay, yeah, you're right," she nodded, grounding herself again.

"Yes I am," he smirked, and she glared at him. "But you more."

He had felt it, too, though for her sake he would keep it to himself. He had noticed the lack of news a lot quicker than she had. He worried about Hailey, too, like he would Nora, or Hannah here, regardless of the fact he was not her parent in any way. She was family, one way or another.

But in this moment he had to give his attention to Rachel, and to Hannah, and maybe that was why they weren't being told anything. It gave him concerns, wondering what it was exactly that they weren't telling him or Rachel, but he had to leave it aside for now.

TO BE CONTINUED (TOMORROW)


	16. Waits For Light

_**This is a double shift day.** There will be one more upload today: Drummer Boy & Burger Girl._

* * *

**"This Little Light of Mine"**

**16. Waits For Light**

As time was passing, and as their waiting continued, it was growing harder for them to know what to do with themselves until Hailey's operation was done. There was nothing to do but this.

Finn had gone and now just sat outside the operating room like a sentry, ready to receive news, any news, as soon as it became available to be had. Nora had come and brought him dinner, and she sat with him for a while, making sure he ate, a move he told her was as reminiscent of her mother as it could be. He was thankful for her company. It reminded him of good things in the world and made him hope for more of them to come, for Hailey as well.

Before she had gone, once he had finished eating, she had hugged him close, promising she wouldn't be far away. He took a breath, thanking her, and he watched her go. He remembered the day she was born. They had almost kept him from being there in the room, but then thanks to Rachel and Puck both, he had gotten to go in, and he knew even now it would have been one of the greatest disappointments in his life if he hadn't been there. He remembered the days when he had first thought he was her father, her birth father, how much he had been ready to love her, no matter what.

And then she hadn't been his and the dreams had gone away for a moment. He had been put in a position of having to decide what to do, after Quinn had come and told him. It had been a betrayal, no doubt, but he'd been made to think, after all she had told him, after what had happened. When it came down to it, he was ready to forgive her. And the day Nora was born, he knew it had been the best decision he could have made.

That day had led to his marrying Quinn, and then to expecting Hailey. He was going to be a father again, and this time things were different. He wasn't a scared sixteen-year-old anymore. They had a home, they could provide for their family, things were good, and with Hailey even better. Then today… today, the day his baby girl had come, sooner than expected…

So he sat, waiting… hoping.

Not too far off, laid out in her bed, she waited, too, with her mother. Burt and Carole had gone to take care of some things. They had also been visited by 'dinner lady Nora,' who saw to it that they ate. Quinn could brush away her fears while the girl was there. Three generations of Fabray women… well, Lawrence women… Judy may have kept her husband's name, but it had been years that he was out of their lives.

Nora had told her about seeing Rachel, that everything was fine though Hannah wasn't out yet. She told her about bringing dinner to Finn, that there was nothing new there either. And when Quinn had finished eating, Nora had come to lie at her side, resting her head to her shoulder. Quinn could have just stayed like this with her forever, but Nora would eventually have to move along, and so she was alone again with her mother.

For some time they would just sit in silence, at a loss for what to say that wouldn't sound like more filler in this time stuck waiting for the operation to be done, for some sort of news, so they were quiet.

The gold dragonfly in her palm was warm from being held so long, and the tips of its wings had left little grooves in her skin, but they didn't hurt. At some point, she would need to return it to Nora, but for now it was giving her so much strength without really trying. It was there, and it reminded her of her girl, made her think of her life… The warm little body they had put in her arms when she was sixteen years old… The girl with those blue eyes like her Nana Judy's… A little thing of a girl, falling asleep in her arms as she sang her lullabies… A little wild child running around because she could, but always at heart a family girl… A frown on her first school pictures but forever Quinn's favorite picture of her for how it made her smile… A kind person, and as much as Nora couldn't wait to have her sisters, Quinn couldn't wait for Hailey, and Hannah as well, to have Nora for a sister… They couldn't hope for better.

But then here they were again. The hospital, the birth, the scare, the operation… The next step remained unfilled. Would it be the relief or the grief? Hope and dread ran so close to one another that neither of them could win out, they were always just at the same pace, would be until they would be done with her.

She had gotten a call from her older sister. Alice was off in Arizona and couldn't be there, but she had been informed, and now had managed to reach her baby sister. Talking to her had done some good, even if a lot of it had been repeating the information which had been cycling through Quinn's brain for hours now. Alice would promise to try and make arrangements to fly home as soon as possible, and in her voice Quinn found constant optimism: she believed completely that Hailey would be fine and running circles around them in no time, and Quinn was more than happy to believe her.

This spirit would slowly recede after the call was done though, leaving Quinn back with her struggle between hope and dread. Nothing could distract her for very long. She couldn't sleep, and reading was impossible. They had turned the television on, but that wouldn't hold her attention very long. Eventually she would tune it out. Her eyes would stare, but nothing registered.

"Sweetheart…" her mother's voice made her look up, and her eyes turned to the door like she would find someone, Finn, or the doctor, but there was no one. "How about we go for a walk, can you?"

"Yes…" she breathed out, clinging to the possibility that the new activity would help distract her where so many others had inevitably left her right back where she was now. Judy came and helped her up and into her robe and slippers and then they had walked out into the hall arm in arm. Quinn was still a bit wobbly on her legs but that would work itself out before long.

They had not gone near the window with the babies just there… She couldn't. They were good and perfect and she couldn't see them now, now while Hailey was out there being operated on.

So in the end they had walked toward the operating room where Finn waited. When he saw them coming, he got up and came forward, taking over from Judy in supporting Quinn by embracing her. They didn't need to say a word; they were in the same place, in every sense of the word.

"I want to stay here," she told him and Judy both.

"I'll let them know," Judy nodded, moving away to leave them be. This was where Quinn had needed to be, close to her daughter, even if she couldn't be with her physically. She took a seat, with Finn at her side. He held her hand, feeling the warmth of the dragonfly, and it released a smile on his lips, thinking of Nora. They could feel it wouldn't be long now… They would know.

TO BE CONTINUED (TOMORROW)


	17. Pools the Love Around

_**This is a double shift day.** There will be one more upload today: Before the Day Is Done._

* * *

**"This Little Light of Mine"**

**17. Pools the Love Around**

She didn't remember falling asleep. She had gone back to the waiting area with her grandfathers, and she'd sat there, and then… Next thing she knew she was waking up, and she was hearing voices all around. She blinked, turning her head up as she realized she was lying across a row of seats. She also couldn't feel Harper on her back anymore and she reached out to find it was gone.

"Hi." She turned up her eyes to find her best friend's face in her line of sight. Was she still dreaming?

"Emily? What are you doing here?" she sat up, and there she saw the girl had Harper in front of her.

"I don't know, all they said was your mom had her baby, and your other mom was having hers, too, and we were going to the hospital." She had been friends with Emily for as long as she could remember. They had been introduced when they were about a year old. Her mother had wanted to find her someone her age to play with. That was when her friend Tina had mentioned her cousin had a daughter roughly Nora's age, and from there the rest was history. That was years before Emily had ended up going to live with her Aunt Tina and Uncle Mike.

Now looking up she saw who the voices belonged to. She knew all of them, and while degrees of relation were a bit off the regular scale, she considered them all as something like aunts and uncles.

"Look who's awake," her aunt Santana had looked over before walking up to them. "Come here," she smiled as Nora got up and she lifted her up into her arms to hug her. "How you doing?" she asked as they pulled back. Nora sighed and shrugged. "Yeah, kind of figured," Santana smirked before putting her down. Nora would soon find herself going from one greeting to the other, with her other 'aunts and uncles,' Brittany, Mike, Tina, Sam, Kurt, and Blaine. She was honestly really happy to see them at this point.

They always made things more interesting. Not that they were boring before, but… She knew they had all known her parents from high school and some before that even. She knew that they were all in that club together, and that was a lot of time, when they were around, there would be songs and music… It was happiness unbound, and maybe that was part of why she loved it so much now.

She had to wonder why they were all here now all of a sudden. Later she would find out it had been after Burt and Carole had called Kurt that he had put things in motion and gathered those who could make it. Were they there to celebrate the double births with them, or were they there to support two of their friends in a potential loss?

"Here," Emily had given her Harper back. When she had told her friend about getting the guitar, they had started going on about how one day they should be a band, with her learning to play guitar, and Emily who'd been taking piano lessons since she was five. She was a lot like Nora in a lot of things, though as comfortable as she was around Nora it wasn't exactly the case with others. Now at this point, with where they were, and what she knew, she looked like she didn't know what to tell her. But Nora smiled to her, so Emily would know just having her around was already good.

"Hey, your grandfathers told me you'd been working on a lullaby for your sisters?" Sam came up to the girls.

"Well, I was," Nora confirmed uneasily.

"Can I hear it?" he asked, and she didn't want to look hesitant, though her eyes did scan the room for anyone who might not be too happy to hear music. But she positioned the instrument, understanding now that, as much as they would be there for her parents and her sisters, maybe they had come in for her, too, so she wouldn't be so worried on her own with her grandfathers. So, again, she played out her lullaby. Sam must have seen the face she made at the one part she still had trouble with. When she stopped, he nodded to the guitar. "Can I?" he asked, and she handed it over.

"I can't remember it," she told him. She was going from memory, when she'd been sitting with her father and he showed her. Her uncle had it figured out though. He played the part right, under the watchful eye of the two eleven-year-olds. Nora had always been good at picking these things up quick even faster if she actually wanted to know them. Before long she had Harper back and she could play out the missing part. "Like that?" Sam just smirked.

"You got it," he told her, and she smiled.

She had sat there for a while, talking to the lot of them who had come in. They would ask her questions, the kind aunts and uncles would ask. She told them about her guitar, how her father had been showing her. She told them about how she had been learning to put diapers on babies – with a doll – and other baby things so she could help with her sisters. She told them about the Mackennas across the street. Emily had yet to meet Grace, but she'd heard about her and they'd been supposed to get together for the first time the three of them the next day, although now…

Feeling the need to move, restless, Nora had asked – no more sneaking off – if she and Emily could go and walk around. After promising they would stay on this floor, the two had gone on down the hall. She wasn't about to take Emily to either of her mothers, considering one was still attempting to give birth, and the other, she knew, was sitting outside the operating room. So she took her to the one good place she knew: the baby window.

Emily's face lit up as hers had when her father had first taken her there. Her version of entertaining and trying to catch the little ones' attention was different from the blonde's and every bit fitting to who Emily was – just a little odd. But it made Nora laugh, which was all she needed.

"What, I don't know," Emily shrugged, laughing along with her. "They can't even see me."

"Bet they'd like it if they could," Nora looked through the window again. It looked like there were a couple new ones… neither of which were her sisters. She sighed, resting her forehead to the glass.

"What's wrong?" Emily asked. Nora pivoted her forehead without lifting it, so she could see her friend. She debated whether she was supposed to tell her these things or not. She wasn't worried that she'd tell anyone, she was the one she trusted the most outside her family… She was practically part of them.

"My first sister from my mom, my birth mom… she's sick. They're doing an operation, to fix her, but… I don't know if they will," she explained, barely managing not to start crying. Emily looked sad for her, and she moved up to take her hand. Nora gave her a thankful smile, squeezing her hand back.

"What about the other one?" Emily asked.

"Still waiting. I don't know how long it takes, a while, I guess. But she should be okay, they said she was on time, it's just… long."

"They'll have the same birthday, that's cool," she smiled.

"Yeah… I kind of liked messing with the nurse, when I went and I asked about my other mom," she smirked, and Emily laughed. Then she had an idea.

"Let's go to the gift shop." The girls dashed off, stopping in the waiting area first before heading down to the shop.

TO BE CONTINUED (TOMORROW)


	18. Greets the Day

_**This is a double shift day.** There will be one more upload today: That Lima Hospitality._

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**"This Little Light of Mine"**

**18. Greets the Day**

After so many false alarms, any time they would hear the door open, finally it had come that the door had opened for them. They guessed someone had let the doctor know they'd be out there. They couldn't count the twists and turns their emotions had gone through in just a few seconds, but at last she would speak and tell them about the operation.

It had all gone about as well as they could have hoped for. It all still depended on how Hailey bounced back after this, but according to her doctor there was every reason to be optimistic, that she would be alright. The worst was over.

For once, they welcomed the tears for being ones of joy, of relief. In just a few minutes they would get to see her. They stood there, needing for just one moment at least to stop, to hold to one another, and to acknowledge what had just happened. They were all too aware that there were parents out there who would not get the same result as they had, who would cry for sadness. Quinn trembled still at the thought of this, and Finn kept her close, silently understanding exactly where she was at. Eventually she looked up to him, and she had to smile. They had their daughter. He leaned in to kiss her.

Soon they were taken to prepare and see her. They would get to look at her for now, no touch, but they would take it. They knew it would be hard to see her like this, still in the aftermath of her small newborn body being operated on. But at the same time they would look at it all as a necessary step so that she may grow and live a good life.

They approached the incubator, looking in. As much as she tried not to, Quinn gasped a little when she saw her, and Finn took her hand. "That's our girl," she smiled.

All this time they had waited for this moment, and now here it was… here she was. Quinn had felt so much conflict at the thought of what could happen to her, knowing there was a chance she might not make it, and then there had been the thought like she knew this feeling already, the hesitation to let herself get attached.

It wasn't exactly the same, but she remembered a time, when she'd been pregnant with Nora, before she'd known for certain that she would keep her… She was there, inside her, and she could feel her, and some part of her just couldn't help but love her, because she was part of her, but then at that point she had nothing there to tell her it was okay to accept and embrace that feeling, because then it was to ignore the very real possibility of losing her and the heartache that would come with it. But then she had made up her mind, and it had just become something else.

With Hailey, it had been similar, but in a different sequence, and with different stakes. There had not been a single moment of doubt through her pregnancy that this wasn't a wonderful event unfolding in their family, and they all awaited the birth. Only then the birth had come, and with it so had the bad news. Their precious girl might not live past these hospital walls, and then the wait had started, stuck between just wanting to have her and being forced to think of a world without her.

But now there they were, and it wasn't the last few hours that she remembered, but all the months before that.

"Hi Hailey…" she breathed, reaching to wipe tears that were blurring her vision. "It's been a long strange day for all of us, and I don't know how much you've been aware of… but I promise you, life gets so much better than this," she smiled down to her. "I can't wait to hold you in my arms, we all can't wait. You have a big family here waiting for you. And they're all going to love you… so much more than they already do," she shook her head. She looked over her shoulder when she thought she heard a whimper, and she found Finn trying real hard to hide his crying. "That tall goof there, that's your dad," she smiled.

"Oh, we've met," he nodded, coming around to get a better look at her. "We had ourselves a quick conversation a while back. Well, I talked, and you listened," he looked down to Hailey. "It's really good to see you again, real, real good," he told her. "The next little while, you need to keep doing what you've been doing, alright? You be strong." Quinn looked to him, thinking.

"Do you think we're going too fast?" He looked up. "What if she gets worse again, and we…"

"The way I see it, with what they've told us, then being positive is how it should be, for us and for Hailey. We've had enough of being afraid for this…"

"I think I can work with that," she smiled.

Soon, Finn would go and give the good news to the others. Quinn would stay, sitting at Hailey's side. There was so much she wanted to tell her, about life, about everything, but the most important and the best she could tell her for now was about her family.

She wondered how different her life would have been if Hailey had been her first baby. If not for her one encounter with Puck, she would have figured she'd be about this age she was now when she'd become a mother… She had such a different outlook on life back then, on what her life was supposed to become, what she had now was as far from that as could be, and she didn't regret it for a second, even preferred it.

So she looked upon her newborn daughter, her second child, and she told her about their family, herself, and Finn, and big sister Nora. She told her about her aunt Alice in Arizona, about her grandparents, and all her aunts and uncles. And she told her about the ones dearest to her heart, Aunt Rachel and Uncle Puck, who at this very moment were bringing another special girl into the world.

TO BE CONTINUED (TOMORROW)


	19. Gives First Cries

_**This is a double shift day.** There will be one more upload today: Something About Those Birthdays._

* * *

**"This Little Light of Mine"**

**19. Gives First Cries**

When the doctor had told Rachel to start pushing, for a moment she'd caught a 'dear in the headlights' look like she'd forgotten what she was meant to do. She looked to Puck, who was equally jumpy and nervous all of a sudden. The last time, when Nora had been born, it had been a completely different scenario. He would always love Quinn in some respects for bringing her to the world, but he didn't love her the other way, the romantic way. He'd also been a shocked kid, who was just standing there, watching.

But this was his wife now, this was him, and Rachel, and their baby girl about to be born, and he was just right there for her. Rachel for her part still looked like she wasn't ready, and he had a feeling he knew why. He covered her one hand with both of his, and she turned to him. "Look, I know you wanted her here with you for this, but it couldn't happen. It's no one's fault, it's just how it had to be. But you can do this, I'm here for you, and I'm not going, so let's do this." She breathed as best she could, but she gave a rapid nod. "Okay, now push!"

So she had, squeezing, right into the hand that held hers, and the encouragements he was giving her were becoming strained, though she wasn't really hearing them to begin with. He didn't complain, instead felt an odd sense of pride at the strength of his wife's grip. Still when she released, his knees gave a drop and he had to pick himself back up.

"You're doing so good," he told her, shaking out his hand.

"You know, I told myself I wasn't going to be one of those women," she shook her head, breathing. "But how would you know how I'm doing?" she grunted at him like the words 'you did this' were begging to leave her lips.

"Twenty-odd years of knowing you," he responded. "You're one hell of a woman, that's how I know," he went on, offering his hand again, while she looked ready to change her tune into weeping again. "Give it all you've got," he told her, and she took his hand, bearing down again.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she spoke through gritted teeth as she pushed.

"It's okay," he cringed as he was certain his hand would be broken by the time this was done. Every time she released, he would try and let his hand relax, but then when she would be ready to go again, he would continue to let her hold on, no matter how much he knew it was going to hurt. He had to think her pain topped his any day.

The closer they got, the more he could feel her get more determined. Soon it was the head, one shoulder and then another, and then just a few seconds later the room vibrated with the shrill cries of the baby girl and Rachel released for good. If his hand hurt right then, he couldn't feel it.

They would put the scissors in his hand, and he'd cut the cord, but that wasn't before they had laid the girl on his wife's chest, still covered in he didn't want to know what. He was sure he fell in love with Rachel all over again, seeing the joy on her face as she touched gentle fingers to their daughter's back.

"Noah, look at her…" she cried. "Hannah…" she spoke the name, the first time directly at the person it belonged to, and it did… that was her name, they could see it already. "Look at you, you pretty little thing…" she laughed, seeing how her cries were calming. "I think she recognizes me…"

"Well you do talk a lot," he told her, permanently smiling.

The whole time they had taken her away from Rachel to clean her up, check her out, everything that had to be done, he could feel his wife's watchful eye following her. For knowing how protective of Nora she already was, he could feel this continuing even further with Hannah.

But soon she was good and wrapped in a blanket, and the nurse had turned and handed the bundle to the new father. He felt his breath catch, feeling the lightness of her in his arms. "Kind of forgot this part," he smiled, taking a few steps to get back to Rachel's side, and now it was him who couldn't look away. She was absolutely beautiful to him, and he could swear he could already see Rachel in her features. "Look at all that dark hair," he very carefully touched the fine hair on her head. For being a newborn, she already had an impressive amount of it, but then he had been the same at birth, from what he'd seen in pictures.

"And it'll stay on her head, right?" Rachel teased.

"No one's touching a single hair on this head," he vowed, coming up to hand her over. "Look now, here's mommy," he whispered to the infant as Rachel received her.

"Can't believe you're here," she smiled down at her daughter, who just gave a yawn at this. "Well of course you're tired, that must have been something," Rachel cooed at her. Puck smiled. She would talk to her just this way, even when she was still in her belly.

"I should go tell the others," he said, once he could make himself look away. Rachel looked up at him.

"Okay," she smiled. He breathed, leaning in to kiss her. He still had to think about how close they'd come to not having any of this, and now, with their daughter in her arms, it felt more of a blessing to him that they'd turned things around than ever before. Without it, they wouldn't have Hannah, and for knowing her all of five minutes, he already couldn't bear the thought.

"I'll be right back," he told Rachel before moving out into the hall. As he walked to the waiting area, he was so happy and carried away with that joy, for a moment he couldn't think of anything else… He had two beautiful daughters and a wife he loved more than ever…

TO BE CONTINUED (TOMORROW)


	20. Announces the News

_**This is a double shift day.** There will be one more upload today: Grief Exists in Ways._

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**"This Little Light of Mine"**

**20. Announces the News**

Finn had not expected the group he found when he returned to the waiting area with his news. Or really he had expected them, but he hadn't thought about the fact they would be there when he arrived. It was perfect that they were. He was happy, overjoyed and spilling with relief, and having all those people he loved standing there... most everyone...

"Where's Nora?" he asked, noticing her absence, and his question caught their attention. He saw Emily wasn't there either, and he could imagine...

"She's down at the gift shop with Emily," Tina confirmed. With that settled he could see now that they had their own question, and he didn't keep them waiting.

"Hailey's out of surgery, everything went great," he nodded with a smile, looking back to them, and they reacted accordingly, in a jumble of sounds and taps on the arm, hugs...

"She's going to be okay then?" Judy breathed with still tearful eyes.

"As far as we can tell. They'll still need to check on her, but it's still all good news right now," he could feel the rumble of emotions still going in his heart. When he saw his mother, he had to hug her. She would see how scared he had been, and she would do as she had done for him her whole life, bringing comfort simply for being, without words. She would know that at one time or another he had implored of his father not to meet his granddaughter just yet, but that if it should have been that this was the way, then to please look out for her.

He was still relaying information when Puck came striding up. He had that same sort of surprise to see the others, but then he saw Finn standing there, and he immediately recalled everything else, the concerns that they weren't hearing anything from him and Quinn...

"Is she here?" Hiram had spoken before he could ask his friend, and he turned to the group.

"She's here," he confirmed, smiling, and the congratulations wagon moved to him. "She's perfect, she's our Hannah, looks just like her mom," he promised, just about guaranteeing the Berry fathers would weep with joy for a solid hour. He felt a hand clap his shoulder and he looked aside to find his best friend clapping his shoulder.

"Congratulations, man," he nodded, offering his hand, and Puck smiled, shaking it.

"Thanks," he told him, then, "What's going on with Hailey?" he asked, his face showing the lack of information flow hadn't gone unnoticed, Finn breathed, bowing his head, and he told him everything he had been kept from since they had split up in the hall.

When Puck returned, Rachel had been moved to her room, and he found her quietly humming to their daughter nestled in her arms, just observing her, looking at her fingers, her toes – she would tell any and all who would hear how little Hannah had the cutest feet in the world, which was absolutely with merit, and would also hold that she was fated to be quite the dancer. He never saw his wife so at peace as she was with her children. He could recall so many moments just getting lost in watching her with Nora as she grew, and he knew when she had a bad day, even if they were miles away from one another, she would call the little blonde and be rejuvenated all in hearing the sound of her voice, the brightness in her laughter.

She was the same way holding Hannah, just taken with overwhelming serenity. He almost didn't want to have to disrupt any of it, but he knew she'd want to know about this, so he walked into the room, careful to remain quiet, so not to startle Hannah. Rachel didn't look away from her, and still she knew he had returned.

"They wanted to take her to the nursery, but I couldn't let her go yet…"

"Won't hear any complaints from me," he came and sat on the edge of the bed. Rachel finally looked up now, and she indicated she was about to hand him the baby. He took hold of her, mindful of keeping her at ease and safe. He had to look at her, distracted briefly. She really did look so much like Rachel, a tiny little version of her… "We've got company back there," he informed her. "Kurt, and Blaine, and Santana, Brittany, and Sam, and Tina, Mike, and Emily," he counted off and Rachel smiled.

"Think I'll need to freshen up a bit," she blushed, reaching to her hair. He gave her a look, and she shook her head. "I know how you see me, that's not the same," she insisted.

"Fair enough," he nodded, looked down to Hannah as he paused. Her little hand was rested at his shirt and he smiled. He had to get on to the rest. "Something else. I talked to Finn." He looked up to Rachel and he could see she was hanging on his every word now. She didn't need to ask questions, he knew exactly what she wanted to know. "Hailey's okay now."

"Now?" she asked.

"They had to operate on her," he explained, and she had a whimper by reflex. "It all went well, the doctor told him and Quinn that she should be out of the woods, they took care of it."

"How did I not… I mean I knew there may have been something, but never… an operation…" she breathed, imagining what both Quinn and Finn must have been going through all this time, and now here she was and…

"They didn't want y… us knowing, not while you were in labor like this. They didn't want to put more of this on us."

"But she's okay now?" she had to make sure. Puck nodded. Rachel looked down to Hannah in his arms, about as perfect and healthy as any newborn could hope to be, and that had all been wonderful… while all this time her best friend must have been agonizing about her own daughter's fate. Now Rachel knew what she had to do. "Take me to her."

"Are you sure you shouldn't rest? I mean you just…"

"There'll be time for that later," she insisted, pushing the covers off her legs. "Help me into a wheelchair?" she pleaded. There was no arguing with her on this and he knew it. He handed Hannah back to her.

"One wheelchair, coming up."

TO BE CONCLUDED (TOMORROW)


	21. Belongs To All of Us

_**This is a double shift day.** There will be one more upload today: Roll On, White Chocolate._

* * *

**"This Little Light of Mine"**

**21. Belongs to All of Us**

She wouldn't leave her, not for as long as she could, as long as they'd let her. After they'd been split so suddenly and abruptly before, and after Hailey had found herself on the operating table as she had, Quinn wanted to sit by her, even without touch, letting her know that she wasn't alone anymore. She wished she could hold her hand, touch her, something, but she couldn't, not yet. So she sat there, and she looked at her…

"Quinn?" The sound of her voice jolted her back to reality, and she looked over her shoulder. There was Puck, pushing the wheelchair where Rachel sat, holding what had to be Hannah. The two best friends reacted immediately, tearing up with relief to have found each other once again. "Can we…"

"Of course," Quinn smiled. When Puck wheeled them up, Quinn reached out grasping the one hand Rachel held out before looking to the girl in her other arm. "She's beautiful," she cried, looking back to her friend who cried as well. Quinn looked up to see Puck was gazing into the incubator, to Hailey, and this made Rachel look to her as well.

"I'll leave you two… you four to talk," Puck gave a small nod to Quinn, who returned a thankful one. They were quiet for a moment, the new mothers both exhausted with the day on their shoulders.

"Can I?" Now it was Quinn asking, indicating the baby. Rachel beamed, leaning in for the hand off. She had to guess not being able to hold her own after all this would be difficult, and maybe this would help… "Hey there, Hannah… aren't you precious," she sniffled… The little girl had those eyes already, the sort of intense look one would expect from a child born of both Rachel and Puck. "Yeah you are," she held her hand. Rachel was drawn to look at Hailey, so small compared to Hannah…

"She's gonna get through this," she decided, looking back to Quinn. "And I… we'll all be here, okay? We're staying in Lima, no timeline… New York can wait."

"Are you sure?" Quinn blinked. This would mean giving up the part she'd been playing, the part she had been so eager to get she had been in tears when she'd called Quinn to tell her.

"More than anything," Rachel nodded. "It's for all of us, I mean… being home makes sense right now, and I'm going to need you as much as you'll need me. And there's Nora… She came to us before, and she made a good point… They shouldn't have to grow apart from one another."

"But what are you going to…"

"I'll figure it out when the time comes. Today it doesn't matter," she promised, beaming when she saw Hannah cooing lovingly at her aunt Quinn. "Well she loves you," she looked up to the blonde, who waved with a smirk to the newborn.

Down in the gift shop, Nora and Emily had been debating between the 'classic' teddy bears and going for something like an elephant and a giraffe, or an owl and a penguin, or… And then Nora had looked up to find her stepdad there. For a beat she had felt her heart ramming away, but going up to him she could see he looked happy. He had told her that Hannah had been born, and she was all good, and on top of that, Hailey had pulled through surgery and she was looking good. Nora had hugged her father, hugged her best friend. Finn had paid for the plush monkey and rabbit, and while he took Emily back to her aunt and uncle, Nora headed to find her mothers and her sisters.

When she had been let into the room, she walked so slowly feeling like she'd been allowed somewhere special, and at the same time just to know who she was about to meet… Quinn saw her coming, and she smiled. "Where's Harper?" she asked.

"With Dad," she revealed. "I didn't think they'd let me bring it in here." Quinn looked to Rachel, who now had Hannah back. They'd both waited on this moment about as much as Nora had.

"Remember how you have to hold her?" Rachel asked, and the girl nodded, putting down the bag she carried.

"Wait," she thought. She needed to look at Hailey, she needed to see her, before she had Hannah in her arms. She didn't know what to expect. But she looked at her, and as much as she was taken aback, it wasn't nearly as bad as she might have imagined. Knowing she would get better now, it helped. She smiled, looking to her mother, who rested a hand at the back of her head, kissing the top of it. "Okay, I'm ready now." Rachel motioned for her to come forward.

"Easy… There we go…" she spoke as Nora got hold of Little Hannah. The girl could not stop smiling, especially with how her baby sister rested so comfortably in her arms.

"I'm okay, right?" she had to check.

"You're doing great," Quinn promised. They would tell her later about Rachel and Puck and Hannah staying in Lima. For now all that mattered was that she was getting to meet her sisters.

"Is it okay if… Could I get a moment with them, just the three of us?" she looked between her mothers. "I wanted to talk to them, if I can…"

"Of course you can," Quinn promised, looking to Rachel, who had the same look on her face. "Come on, I'll give you the scenic tour," Quinn moved to wheel out Rachel. Nora watched them go before being drawn back to look at Hannah in her arms, as she gave a bit of a fuss, calming once Nora looked to her again.

"It's alright, I got you," she assured her, smiling as she offered her hand and she felt the tiny fingers graze at her palm. "I'm Nora, I'm your big sister. I'm both of your big sisters, actually," she got nearer to the incubator, turning so they were facing Hailey, even if they couldn't really see each other. "Now technically, you two aren't sisters, not by blood or anything like that. But when you grow up, if you see each other like sisters, then that's okay," she promised, smiling. "You're going to find out our family is kind of big, and we're not always related the way most family members are, but that's no different to us. We're all really lucky," she smiled to both of them. "Oh, wait…" she remembered.

She had gone and retrieved the bag. She took out the rabbit and placed it near the incubator, for Hailey. Now holding the monkey, she showed it to Hannah, who looked immediately fascinated. It made Nora laugh.

"It'll be all yours," she promised. "I think you're a little small to hold on to it right now, but I can help with that," she gave it a shake, and she swore it got a smile out of her.

The day had been long, for all of them. For her it had been so confusing and full of emotions, good ones, sad ones, happy, angry, sad, relieved, scared… Now standing where she was, with one sister in her arms and the other right before her, she had nothing but peace.

"I have something else, too, beside the toys. I learned a lullaby to play for you. I can't now, I don't have my guitar, but I wouldn't want to do it here anyway, I think. It would be even better if I did it for you once you're both home, not in a hospital, in an incubator, right?" Hannah stared at the monkey. "I want you to know… no matter what happens, or where we are, I'll always be there for you, okay? That's what sisters are for, right?" she smiled. "And I've got so much to tell you, and show you… You just wait."

THE END  
_(of this story, not the series ;))_


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